Around The World Of Sailing

Sub 60?

A couple of weeks ago I conjectured that Cheyenne might finish her round the world voyage in under 60 days. Current projections show her around 58 days.

This sub 60 time is something I thought of prior to The Race. I projected a 59 day trip

Tim Zimmerman author of The Race thinks thata sub 60 trip might last for awhile. He suspects Orange II might make it in 55 days, but that under 50 is a big ask for current technology.

Replying to Zimmerman I asked if a boat such as Cheyenne that had fewer problems might not approach 55 days. Zimmerman said, "my guess is they lost about a day to the equator, a couple of half days for the headstay and mast track repairs, a day or more approaching Cape Horn, and maybe a day heading north back to the equator." This equals out to 4 days, which would mean an under 55 day run. Does more durability=under 55?

I think that sub 55 is an eminent occurrence as Race Class cats become more durable.

For a time of 50 days or under I think the displacement issue has to be overcome. The maxi cats are fast, but there hulls still go through the water rather than over. Maybe Yves Parliers new seaplane inspired catamaran leads to the way to sub 50?

Student Built Mini

From Jim Stewart at the Bayfront Centre in Erie PA comes this news, "We are building a MINI 6.50 to compete in the 2005 MINI Transat. We work primarily with inner city neglected and delinquent youth and utilize boat building, sailing, environmental studies and underwater archeology to teach and reinforce traditional academic subjects and to introduce personal growth initiatives."

By the completion of the boat 1,000 children will have participated. It is being built at the Bayfront Center for Maritime studies. The mission of BCMS is to design and deliver unique, maritime-based educational, vocational, and recreational opportunities for the local community. BCMS provides programming for all the juvenile placement facilities in Erie County and seventeen public school districts in northwest Pennsylvania.

The boat is a Dudley Dix design being built of wood.

They hope to have the boat completed for the upcoming Boston to Bermuda Mini race, this June.

The mini is the smallest of the Open Classes at 21 feet. Every other year (next being 2005) these boats sail a 2 legged trans atlantic race, solo fashion.

Linky Sailing News

Racing Cheyenne progresing. Geronimo taking a southern option. Cayard already planning.

News A changing Vendee Globe Frostad becoming a tri guy.

Great Lakes Cruising on the Badger. Shipping in Detroit. Green Bay port planning. Welland Canal's 175th Opening.

College Sailing Hobart William Smith tops at team racing.

Volvo Ocean Race Boats Building

Next week, the Irishman Killian Bushe starts building the two boats with which ABN AMRO will participate in the Volvo Ocean Race. From Monday, one of the hangars of Schaap Shipcare in Lelystad (the Netherlands), will be used for these building works. Bushe was responsible for building the Illbruck, the winning boat in the last Volvo Ocean Race. To build the ABN AMRO boats he will gather an international group of specialists in Lelystad. Several Dutchmen, including five Schaap Shipcare employees will aid this group. In total, twenty people will be involved in building the boat.

The facilities available at Schaap Shipcare provide good conditions for Bushe to build the two boats. The large, light hall, measuring 60 by 35 metres will be fully adapted for the building and finishing/spraying of composite yachts. A special oven, which can heat up to 100 degrees celcius and measuring 30 by 7,5 by 6,5 metres, will be added. This oven is needed for baking the resin that will be used.

ABN AMRO announced its 2-boat participation in the Volvo Ocean Race on 11 March. The race around the world starts in November 2005 in Spain and will finish in the summer of 2006 in Northwest Europe. The Dutchman Roy Heiner is in charge of the sailing part of the project. Juan Kouyoumdjian, from Argentina is responsible for the boat design.

Geronimo's Southern Option

A few days ago, Geronimo was violently “ejected” from the south of this Pacific Ocean, whose name is undoubtedly open to question.

It now seems clear that since yesterday (30 March), our skipper Olivier de Kersauson, having gathered together every scrap of weather data about these deserted seas, has decided to dive south to the Horn, now less than 3,000 nautical miles away.

A position fix taken at 05:09 GMT today (31 March) puts the trimaran at 51°08S, 154°22W and continuing east-southeast on a bearing of precisely 116° at a spot actual speed of 20.4 knots.

This radical option, which seems increasingly certain as the hours go by, should see the trimaran progressing further and further south over the coming days: 52°, 53°, 55° - even more perhaps. If she can indeed “get through”, there should be two positive effects.

The most obvious is that it will shorten Geronimo’s route to Cape Horn in terms of longitude, because the closer you get to the South Pole, the closer together the meridians become.

The other benefit of this option is that it allows the trimaran to skirt south of a powerful low pressure system now establishing itself west of the Chilean coast.

The Cap Gemini and Schneider Electric crew know what it is to fight: we wish them bon courage in the battles to come

Cheyenne In the Trades

Summary 430 miles Tuesday progress in Trades. Nearly 4-1/2 days ahead of Orange 2002 RTW position. Finish targeted for early next week

A day of consistent NE tradewinds (now beginning to clock towards the East) has propelled Steve Fossett, Cheyenne and their international crew of 12 a further 430 miles N/NW over the past 24 hours (avg 17.91 kts) - not quite directly on course but not far off - with better wind angles ahead as the wind continues to shift towards the E and then SE over the next 36 hours. Distance to the official WSSRC start-finish line at Ouessant is now some 2400 nm. A finish early next week is now a distinct possibility.

Cheyenne's Round The World Sailing record attempt after 53 full days is almost 4-1/2 days ahead of the equivalent position for Bruno Peyron's Orange I, with the 2002 'phantom' rival some 1240 miles behind 'on the water' at a position just South of the Equator - and history shows Orange I then faced 4 slow days ahead.

Last 2 years of Jules Verne

In the Last 2 years

Geronimo has started 3 times with one 1 finish, outside of record time & 1 still in progress/

Kingfisher 1 start. Dismasted, DNF.

Orange II 2 starts. Has not made it to the equator.

Cheyenne 1 start, under 10 days to go, ahead of record.

The Seas Again

Geronimo seems to be in serious trouble. If Olivier de Kersauson says, "it's a matter of survival" it means the rest of us would be in the fetal position and praying for rescue. ODK& team are carrying on but are no longer sure of finishing or setting a record.

Once again it's the seas. Here's ODK on them: "We have an appalling sea...which makes for a dangerous beam sea that’s difficult to cope with...What we have is an amazingly harsh southern sea...The sea is impossible...I can't cross waves at this speed...the sea that is stopping us."

If this Jules Verne season has done nothing else it has showed us that waves trump wind in the maxi cat world.

Jules Verne Deja Vu

Today's report from Cheyenne contains this news, "[a] steel bushing holding the front beam to the boat had broken in the middle and worked out halfway on one side."

This potentially voyage ending problem came just ... days after Cheyenne had crossed the equator. Theoretically, it's the home stretch, the benign Atlantic after the horrifying Southern Ocean. As usual the gap between theory and practice was filled by Murphy's Law. Once again Cheyenne made repairs at sea and continued. This is their 3rd major repair/strike, but perhaps the maxi cat sails on the 9 lives theory.

This is not dissimilar to what occurred to Orange on the north bound leg of her Jules Verne record. In 2002 a titanium ball that the mast rests on failed, a near disaster for Orange. Orange had to finish her voyage at less than full tilt due to this. According to Steve Fossett, "we would love to pour it on. Instead we are sailing slower and conservatively."

Perhaps the key to future Jules Verne record success lies in a boat that can race 100% the entire way around the globe.

Linky Sailing News

Racing Too much for Geronimo? Another fix for Cheyenne. Star Euros. IFDS 2 person worlds.

News Kids building Mini. Reflecting Reynolds. Installing hardware

Great Lakes Fast ferries coming. Seaway sniping.

College Sailing Tufts best at AC monos

Geronimo: Is it Too Much?

Let’s remind ourselves of what Olivier de Kersauson said at the end of the radio link conversation on Monday 29 March:

“We’ve been off course for 4 days. We’re just surviving, and like all survivors, we hope that things will get better in the next 48 hours. If nothing changes, the only thing we’ll be able to do is to run for the north and not round the Horn at all”.

And: “In 2 or 3 days, we’ll have to evaluate the true risk. As things are, we can’t risk capsizing the boat. At this time of the year, in these waters… we’re not in the North Atlantic where there are people around. If you capsize here, you’re dead”.

Whatever the decision reached by Geronimo’s skipper, we can be sure that it will be in the best possible interest of the Cap Gemini and Schneider Electric crew.

Whatever the content of his announcement, it will be indisputable since the choice will have been guided by the clear imperative of protecting human life, which is priceless and can never be compared with the exhilaration of performance.

Every one of Geronimo’s crew knows that they can count on the total support of their sponsoring partners.

Cheyenne: Another Fix

Summary: Immediate repairs avert mast disaster - again

370 miles in 24 hours (15.42 kts avg)

4 day lead over Orange 2002 position (based on latitude)

The maxi-catamaran Cheyenne and her crew under skipper Steve Fossett made a further 370 miles driving N/NW up the Atlantic at an average of 15.4s kts on Monday, leaving them some 2700 nm from the official finish line at Ouessant and 4 days ahead of the 2002 position of the current Round The World Sailing record holder.

But Monday was not all clear sailing, as a partial breakage at the front beam was discovered in the afternoon and immediate repairs were required to avert another major potential 'show stopper'. Steve Fossett describes the 'close call':
"When some crew heard a new creaking noise from the right front corner of the boat Monday morning, Nick Leggatt and I threw on our harnesses and ran up to see the cause. The carbon and steel bushing holding the front beam to the boat had broken in the middle and worked out halfway on one side. Another two hours of this upwind sailing and it would have finished coming out, the beam separated, and the mast fallen over from lack of support. That was a close call.

We slowed and the crew went to work trying to pound it back in to place. It only went part way back in. Then the drilling and bolting was started. The whole operation was completed in four hours. This temporary fix is likely to hold until the finish, but we have to take it easy on the boat. What a shame, because we have an excellent wind pattern into the finish and we would love to pour it on. Instead we are sailing slower and conservatively.

We will be relieved on Wednesday when we are done with this pounding from sailing upwind in the Tradewinds."

This morning's position at end Day 52 saw Fossett and crew at 9 20' N Latitude, 31 43' W longitude - just over 2700 miles minimum distance to the finish and some 4 days ahead of the existing RTW record holder's 2002 position based on latitude (In 2002, Orange I had reached 9 20' N, 28 48' W at the end of their Day 56).

Plastic Issues/A Million Good Causes

A customer recently said he'd heard 'horror stories' about plastic clogging saidrive intakes. Due to this he wanted to by pass the water intake located in the sail drive and switch to a regular thru hull with strainer.

I did some thinking and inquiring on this. Unfortunately plastic items are a fact of modern watery life. They can clog any intake you put on a boat. A sail drive intake might actually be less affected as it is nearer the prop and it's turbulence.

Should you decide this is really a problem, you might want to connect the sail drive and normal thru hull with a t-fitting.

All in all, considering the odds on a plastic clog, the money would probably be spent with a clean water advocacy group rather than modifying your engine. The problem isn't with the engine, but with the plastic in the water.

If you're a Lake Michigan sailor consider spending a little time working on the Lake Michigan Federation's Adopt a beach program. Involvement in this program will help clear up debris which clog engine intakes.

Ellen Goes Solo on Tri

IN BRIEF:

* B&Q SKIPPER, ELLEN MACARTHUR, HAS COVERED NEARLY 1000 MILES SINCE LEAVING THE FALKLAND ISLANDS ON FRIDAY NIGHT....

* FIRST SOLO VOYAGE ON THE NEW 75-FOOT B&Q CATAMARAN AS MACARTHUR IS REMINDED OF THE HARSH REALITY OF SOLO SAILING... "Six sail changes today as wind increased - it's exhausting..."

Visit http://www.teamellen.com for further information

IN DETAIL:

Ellen MacArthur has begun her maiden solo voyage on board the 75ft B&Q trimaran. She left Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands on Friday at 20:00 GMT (26.03.04) and will have covered approximately 1000 nautical miles by the end of today (29.03.04). This is MacArthur's first solo voyage for over 15 months, since the solo transatlantic Route du Rhum race in November 2002.

Her departure was delayed by a few hours as strong winds of up to 45 knots were forecasted. However, MacArthur left the islands quickly behind in a good 18 knot NW wind and is now heading out into the South Atlantic on the first part of her return trip. It will be another testing time for both skipper and boat, as they face upwind conditions of the South Atlantic. Ellen is already experiencing the harsh realities of solo sailing with the breeze varying between 15 and 30 knots. At 1000 GMT B&Q was approx 750 nm south-east of Montevideo, Uruguay at a position of 42 00S 043 05W, sailing an average of 15 knots in a 20 knot WSW breeze.

FROM ELLEN ON BOARD B&Q:

"Out at last, and great to be out on the water solo again, though at the same time very sad to leave the guys and everyone else behind. It all happenned very quickly - before I knew it we were in Port Stanley and it was time for everyone to leave. I can't believe that this is really the first time that I've sailed solo on board B&Q, nor that it's the first time that I've been without the guys either on land or sea. I'm looking foward to what's ahead and can't wait to see how she performs...so far, so good! But she can be hard work in these conditions - six sail changes today as the wind increased. The realities of singlehanded sailing can be pretty harsh sometimes and it's exhausting but awesome to be out here. Conditions are already getting warmer - the air temperature has gone up a few degrees."

"Our stay here in the Falklands has been just fantastic. We were totally welcomed and made to feel very much at home. Although we were busy checking and preparing the boat before I left, we had some time to see the Islands themselves. The sights were beautiful and remind me a lot of the north west of Scotland. The nature and the landscape was breathtaking. There were a few small things to fix on board before we left but all the testing went well so I was pretty confident leaving. "

ellen
x

The Transat Update

'One man, one boat, the sea...The Transat...established in 1960 as the OSTAR'

IN BRIEF:

* 2003 ORMA World Champion, Franck Cammas, one of the favourites in the 60ft multihull class will be relying on the existing Groupama for victory in The Transat, whilst Yves Parlier will be pushing the boundaries with his radical, new 60ft catamaran...

* Both Pindar AlphaGraphics and AT Racing are relaunched in Portsmouth as much publicity surrounds Thomson's quest for sponsorship...

* A look at 1968, the third edition of this 44 year-old solo transatlantic race, that delivered 60 knot storms and one skipper who took advantage of the rules to win...

Visit http://www.thetransat.com for further information

IN DETAIL:

Competitors in The Transat are this week continuing to get their boats ready for sea while those further advanced are setting out on their 1000 mile single-handed qualification passages.

Among those who are planning to set out shortly on their qualification passage are Franck Cammas on Groupama, Lalou Roucayrol on Banque Populaire, Roger Langevin on his much campaigned Open 50 Branec III and Etienne Hochede, who finished third in his class aboard his 35ft monohull four years ago, back this year on board his Open 50 PIR2.

All eyes will be on the progress of Cammas, for he is unquestionably one of the favourites for the coveted first place among the ORMA 60 multihulls. This class is highly competitive with 12 boats competing in The Transat, but last year out of six events on the ORMA circuit there was only one event the 31 year old Frenchman did not win. In 2000 Cammas finished third in The Transat, retired from the 2002 Route du Rhum (as did most of the boats) and will be looking to The Transat to gain his first single-handed transatlantic victory. Cammas will be relying on his existing ORMA World Championship winning multihull Groupama rather than the new Groupama constructed over the winter.

The most radical boat in The Transat will be Yves Parlier's Médiatis Région Aquitaine, the first race for this revolutionary new machine. Unlike the ORMA trimarans, Médiatis Région Aquitaine has two hulls rather than three and with a beam of 50ft is exceptionally wide for a 60ft long catamaran. She also has two rigs - one mounted over each hull. As if this weren't enough the hull shape of the boat is also ground-breaking with a very narrow V-shaped hull and a 'step' running across the underside of the hull, a device commonly used by racing power boats to reduce drag.

The boat has been sailing for less than a month now and has already clocked 29 knots. Parlier believes the boat to be capable of more than 40 knots. At present the team are in the middle of a 10-day sea trial during which they hope to see how the boat behaves in gale force conditions. A week after their return Parlier will set out single-handed on his qualifier for The Transat.

Currently Portsmouth harbour is a hive of Open 60 activity with both Pindar AlphaGraphics and Alex Thomson's AT Racing relaunched this week after winter refits. In a break with their traditional sponsoring of female crews Emma Richards' sponsor Pindar are instead backing New Zealand sailor Mike Sanderson for The Transat. Sanderson is an elite level sailor when it comes to crewed racing having competed in both the America's Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race, but this will be his first ever single-handed race. After a disappointing performance in the Transat Jacques Vabre last year, Sanderson is under no illusions of what is in store for him. "I am really going to be the new boy on the block and I am in awe of the other competitors and what they have done. I am definitely keeping my head down and just trying to get as many miles in under my belt single-handed as well as putting some hard pushed miles on this boat which so far we've never managed to do," he said.

Formerly Graham Dalton's Hexagon, Pindar AlphaGraphics has had her single daggerboard replaced with two new asymmetric boards developed and built in New Zealand. Sanderson will be out testing the new gear with a full crew shortly before setting off on his qualifier at the end of the first week in April.

Despite having gained much credibility when he set a new single-handed monohull 24 hour record in Le Defi Atlantique last year on his Open 60 AT Racing, Alex Thomson is still looking for a sponsor that will get him to the start line of both The Transat and November's Vendee Globe.

THIRD EDITION : 1968

If ever there was an edition of The Transat that proved what a tough proposition this race can be, it was the third edition held in 1968. During this the north Atlantic was swept by a massive depression bringing with it 60 knot, storm force winds. Many competitors hoved to, dropping all but a storm jib to sit out the terrible conditions. Only one competitor made a significant gain by taking advantage of the rules which had not outlawed weather routing - at that time, it was not considered a viability for solo skippers. At a time before satellite communications, on board internet access and web-based weather sites, Geoffrey Williams on board Sir Thomas Lipton was the first in the race ever to use weather routing. Via a hefty high frequency radio Williams would communicate with meteorologists in London who were running weather models using a very early computer and who would provide him with forecasts. Warned of the storm Williams sailed north missing the brunt of it and gained an estimated 300 miles over his competitors in the progress. Williams went on to win the race despite some controversy at the end when he sailed the wrong course. Weather routing was banned from subsequent races, but this year the ORMA class who govern the 60ft multihulls have agreed to allow weather routing.

The Transat starts on 31st May and email updates will be sent out every week until the start

ND Icebreaker

Notre Dame Freshman Icebreaker
Univ of Notre Dame
March 27-28, 2004

Saturday morning heavy fog briefly postponed racing. Partly cloudy skies and south winds at 8-12kts made for great sailing. Windward Leeward 2x courses were run. Races 1-8 were completed. Sunday, sunny skies and strengthening winds greeted sailors. Winds were from the south at 8-14kts. WL and WL2x courses were run.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
TOT

1
Wisconsin A 3 5 3 BKD 3 1 7 5 4 1 1 3 39
B 3 3 1 5 2 4 3 3 2 2 3 3 34
6 14 18 26 31 36 46 54 60 63 67 73

2
MSU1 A 12 1 6 7 7 5 1 10 7 3 3 6 68
B 1 1 2 1 1 3 1 2 1 1 1 1 16
13 15 23 31 39 47 49 61 69 73 77 84

3
Miami A 5 7 5 1 6 7 5 4 2 4 7 1 54
B 4 2 5 4 3 1 4 1 4 3 2 2 35
9 18 28 33 42 50 59 64 70 77 86 89

4
ND1 A 1 3 2 4 2 2 2 3 5 7 2 5 38
B 8 5 11 6 10 8 7 8 7 5 4 5 84
9 17 30 40 52 62 71 82 94 106 112 122
5
WMU A 8 6 7 5 8 10 9 7 3 9 8 7 87
B 2 6 4 3 9 7 5 10 3 4 5 6 64
10 22 33 41 58 75 89 106 112 125 138 151
6
Purdue A 7 10 4 3 5 8 4 2 11 10 6 4 74
B 7 4 8 9 11 12 8 5 9 7 6 4 90
14 28 40 52 68 88 100 107 127 144 156 164

7
Michigan A 2 2 12 12 4 3 8 6 6 5 9 8 77
B 5 8 10 7 6 6 10 6 5 9 11 8 91
7 17 39 58 68 77 95 107 118 132 152 168
8
Indiana A 4 4 1 2 1 4 3 1 1 2 4 2 29
B 13 12 13 12 13 13 13 13 10 12 9 11 144
17 33 47 61 75 92 108 122 133 147 160 173
9
Hope A 6 9 10 8 10 12 6 8 8 6 5 9 97
B 10 9 3 10 8 10 11 9 6 11 7 12 106
16 34 47 65 83 105 122 139 153 170 182 203
10
ND2 A 10 12 11 11 11 11 10 12 12 8 12 10 130
B 9 7 9 8 5 5 2 4 8 8 8 7 80
19 38 58 77 93 109 121 137 157 173 193 210

11
Minnesota A 9 11 9 10 9 6 12 13 10 11 10 11 121
B 6 10 7 2 4 2 9 7 12 10 12 10 91
15 36 52 64 77 85 106 126 148 169 191 212
12
MSU2 A 11 8 8 6 13 13 13 9 9 12 11 12 125
B 11 11 6 11 7 9 6 11 11 6 10 9 108
22 41 55 72 92 114 133 153 173 191 212 233
13
Kenyon A 13 13 13 13 12 9 11 11 DNS DNS DNS DNS 151
B 12 13 12 13 12 11 12 12 DNS DNS DNS DNS 153
25 51 76 102 126 146 169 192 220 248 276 304

A division = 12 Races

TOT
1. Indiana 29 Barret Rhoads '07/ Kerry Kilbourne (ND) '07
2. ND1 38 Dan Ryan '07/ Erin Elser '06
3. Wisconsin 39 Liz Prange '07/ Andy Muller '07
4. Miami 54 Jocelyn Pollak '07/ Anne Simiele '06
5. MSU1 68 Michael Fong '07/ Erin Holcomb '07
6. Purdue 74 Matt Conrad '07/ Mattox '07 (1-6,11-12) Fleck
'07 (7-10)
7. Michigan 77 Ben Seppalla '07/ Lisa Vanderboosche '07
8. WMU 87 Chris Koch '07/ Ben Bushkuhl '07
9. Hope 97 Charlie Sierzant '07/ Troy Schrock '05
10. Minnesota 121 Jones 05 (1-4,7-8,11-12) Lambert '07 (5-6,9-10)/
Lambert 07 (1-4,7-8) Gross 05 (9-12) Chan 04(56)
11. MSU2 125 James Hook '07/ Ed Lake '07
12. ND2 130 Ryan Wermeling '07/ Bethune '07 (1-6) Wieber '07
(6-12)
13. Kenyon 151

B division = 12 Races

TOT
1. MSU1 16 Rob Linden '06/ Meghan Walter '06
2. Wisconsin 34 Scott Eisenhardt '06/ Kelsey Cramer '07
3. Miami 35 Rush '07/ Heckler '07 (3-4,7-8,9-10)
Brennan '07 (1-2,5-6)
4. WMU 64 Joy Donahue '07/ Lindenberg '06 (1-4,7-12)
Brown '05 (5-6)
5. ND2 80 Tim O'Shaughnessy 06 (1-6) Tim Russell 07 (6-12)
/ Amy Becker '07
6. ND1 84 Dave Harmon 04 Mike Maus 06/ Kathleen Sabloff 07
7. Purdue 90 Charles Rush '06/ Peter Maloney '07
8. Michigan 91 Arbaugh '05 (1-2,5-6) Quasney '06 (3-4,7-8)/
Lieberzon (1-2,5-6) Vane '07 (3-4,7-8)
9. Minnesota 91 Saarela '04 (1-10,12) Chan '04 (11) / Gross '05
(1-8) Chan '04 (9-10,12) Saarela '04 (11)
10. Hope 106 Robert Croswell '07/ DeYoung '07 Davis '07
11. MSU2 108 Ryan Gates '06/ Katie Jacquemin '07
12. Indiana 144 Kiki Kaprel '07/ Jim Coyle '08 (ND)
13. Kenyon 153

Hurricanes +

For the first time there is a hurricane in the South Atlantic, albeit only a Category 1. Should it come ashore it will touch Brazil.

On a related line, what's the difference between a hurricane and a typhoon? The short answer, "not much". Typhoon is a term for the Western Pacific, while hurricane is used elsewhere.

Maryland Match Racing

Annapolis, MD (March 26, 2004)- Ed Baird's Team MUSTO decisively won the inaugural Annapolis Cup Match Race, defeating Terry Hutchinson's Team Annapolis Volvo on the final day of racing on the Chesapeake Bay. With the historic city of Annapolis, Maryland and the United States Naval Academy serving as a backdrop to the battle, Team MUSTO came away the victor after winning five of the six hard-fought races contested today.

Both teams of world class professional sailors came together for three days of match racing practice in preparation for the April 2004 Congressional Cup, the California stop on the Swedish Match Tour. Previously in the Annapolis Cup, Wednesday's practice day led to Thursday's four races which saw both teams in a 2-2 tie.

On Friday, the final day of racing, Baird, sailing with the majority of his Team MUSTO 2003 ISAF World Match Racing Championship crew, set the tone for the day by sweeping the first three races, held in a shifting, moderate 5-10 kts of breeze. In the fourth race of the day with the wind increasing to 10
- 13 kts, Hutchinson and his Annapolis-based Team Annapolis Volvo which included tactician Chris Larson, won the start and nailed the shifts on the first beat upwind. They developed a lead so big, the race was conceded by Baird before the finish and both boats decided to return to the starting area to go at it again and practice yet another dial-up, the key component in the start sequence of any match race.

A further unusual aspect of the event's remarkable format featured a move, during the fifth race, whereby Team Annapolis Volvo got an unfortunate twist in their chute and bagged the race, returning to the Race Committee boat and asked the Race Committee Chairman, John Potter, for another race to be started immediately. Team MUSTO agreed to the change and an unexpected sixth race was conducted. For the first time in the series, both boats were over early at the start and after restarting cleanly, Baird and his Team MUSTO, assisted by favorable rulings from the on-water umpires Dobbs Davis and Mike Jones, showed their transom to Team Annapolis Volvo yet again at the finish line. The final tally for the series was seven wins for Baird and three for Hutchinson.

The Annapolis Cup Match Race Awards Ceremony was held at the Boatyard Bar & Grill in Eastport, Annapolis. The Boatyard was filled to capacity with sailors and supporters, eager to rub shoulders with the cream of the world's match racing champions. Annapolis Mayor Ellen Moyer expressed her enthusiasm for the Annapolis Cup Match Race and admiration for the depth of the talent on the two boats. "Annapolis, the Sailing Capital of America, is honored to serve as the site for your racing practice," she said. "Our community wishes all of you the best of luck in next month's Congressional Cup and hopes you will return to Annapolis to race again soon."

Linky Sailing News

Racing Cayard/Trinter going to the Olympics. Cheyenne setting records & heading home. Geronimo slowing down. Mcdonald winning Star Euros. Anticipating key for Cayard.

News Langman building new boat. Canting news.

Great Lakes Ice breaking collision. Rising waters. Volunteering for water quality. Damage to 1,000 footer.

College Sailing #1 Harvard in winning form.

Cayard & Trinter to Athens

In the twenty years since Paul Cayard (Kentfield, Calif.) was a member of the U.S.A.’s 1984 Olympic Sailing Team – as an alternate – he has accomplished a number of sailing milestones that have made him the envy of most sailors. He has won the Star World Championship (’88), the Star North American’s (’03, ’94), and the Whitbread ‘Round the World Race (’98), all the while maintaining a very active career in America’s Cup sailing. However, the lure of the Olympics has been like an unrequited love affair. That is all about to change.

After finishing fifth in the first race of the day, Cayard and crew Phil Trinter (Lorain, Ohio) wrapped up their win of the US Olympic Team Trials-Sailing in the Star class. Trinter, a 1993 Star World Champion, and Cayard have been sailing together for the last two years, having met during the 2000 America’s Cup. For the last 10 days, Cayard and Trinter have done battle on Biscayne Bay in a “Star-studded” fleet that included five additional Star World Champions, three of whom are Star Olympic Gold Medallists: Steve Erickson (’84), Mark Reynolds (’00), and Magnus Liljedahl (’00).

This was the fourth time at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Cayard (’84, ’88 and ’96) and the third for Trinter (’96 and ’00). “This regatta was pretty sweet,” said Cayard. “We put a lot more preparation in this time,” he added when asked what was different this time around, explaining that many of the lessons he learned during the America’s Cup he could afford to implement for these Trials, something he would not have been able to afford when younger.

While Cayard and Trinter were able to sit out the last two races of the series after mathematically securing their win, racing continued for the remaining 21 teams who were fighting for second through fifth place in the overall standings to secure a spot on the 2004 US Sailing Team. The US Sailing Team annually recognizes the top-five ranked athletes in each of the nine classes chosen for the Olympic Games. For 2004, the rankings were determined solely by the Olympic Team Trials.

Andy Lovell (New Orleans, La.) and Olympic Gold Medallist Magnus Liljedahl (Miami, Fla.) finished 3-4-12 today for second place overall on 65 points.

George Szabo (San Diego, Calif.) and crew Mark Strube (West Palm Beach, Fla.) posted finishes of 11-7-5 today to remain third in the overall standings at 69 points.

Eric Doyle (San Diego, Calif.) and Brian Sharp (Norwalk, Conn./Franklin, Mass.) placed 6-6-3 for a final total of 76 points, and fourth place overall.

Olympic Gold Medallists Mark Reynolds (San Diego, Calif.) and Steve Erickson (Seattle, Wash./Hood River, Ore.) finished 2-10-7 today to net 80 points and fifth place in the overall standings.

Cheyenne Day 51

Summary Still fighting Doldrums

269 nm run (avg 11.2 kts)

Less than 3000 miles to finish line

3 days ahead of Orange 2002

Another long night of squalls through the Doldrums and Steve Fossett and crew saw the end of a day which began with the crossing of the Equator in record time and finished this morning with a hard-fought 269 mile run (avg 11.2 kts) and a net distance back to the start-finish line of less than 3000 miles. Current lead over the 2002 RTW record of Orange I is still calculated at 3 days. *

(*Although Cheyenne's estimated lead is still 3 days, in mileage terms we have now reduced the estimate to 1125 miles, as the widely differing courses of the two boats make direct comparisons unreliable. So we are now simply measuring each boat's distance to the finish and using the difference as any lead / deficit.)

Cheyenne's times of 50 days 3 hours 3 minutes from the Ouessant start to the second Equator crossing (3 days 1 hour faster than Orange 2002), as well as the 10 days 6 hours 47 minutes passage from Cape Horn back to the Equator (7 hours faster than Club Med during The Race 2001) are both new segment bests for an RTW attempt.

Steve Fossett commented last night when told of the Horn - Equator mark:
"We were shocked to hear that we set a segment record from Cape Horn to Equator. We thought we were unlucky with the weather because we were brought down to minimal speeds five times by lack of wind. Perhaps the South Atlantic is always difficult and all of the other fast boats have had comparable problems."

Geronimo at the Date Line

The Cap Gemini and Schneider Electric trimaran crossed the antimeridian (International Date Line) at 22:10 GMT Sunday 28 March (estimated time).

She therefore reached and crossed the International Date Line approximately 31 days, 22 hours and 53 minutes after crossing the Jules Verne Trophy start line at 23:17 GMT on 25 February.

This time is even better than that recorded by Geronimo herself in 2003, when she crossed the 180° longitude line (also called the International Date Line) after 32 days, 3 hours, 13 minutes and 47 seconds. Geronimo is therefore ahead of her own performance of last year.

The catamaran Orange, which set the current Jules Verne Trophy record in 2002, took approximately 34 days, 9 hours, 20 minutes to cross this imaginary line at 180° longitude.

In fact, Geronimo has been getting closer to the tip of Brittany at 5°W ever since she crossed 176°E longitude. Olivier de Kersauson and his crew now have the psychological boost of knowing that, from this moment on, every nautical mile covered brings them closer to home and the Jules Verne Trophy finish line.

Cheyenn Equator Report

Sunday 28 March 2004 - 1110 GMT - 654 miles N/NE Recife, Pernambuco (Brasil): Still driving hard after 50 days on their official Round The World Sailing record attempt, American Skipper Steve Fossett and his crew of 12 on board the maxi-catamaran Cheyenne crossed the Equator at 08:13 am today (Sunday 28 March) and re-entered the northern hemisphere. Seven weeks of hard sailing, plus a powerful 543 mile run over the past 24 hours leaves them with an imposing lead of more than 3 days over the current global record (set at 64 days 8 hours 37 minutes in 2002 by French Skipper Bruno Peyron on the catamaran Orange). Fossett and Cheyenne are now on Day 51 of their RTW attempt, and hope to reach the official start-finish line between France and the UK in a further 10 days time.

© Claire Bailey 2004

Steve Fossett was pleased at today's milestone, but aware that the task is not yet complete: "We have 22,000 miles behind us and just 3200 to go to the finish. We will sail it hard, but at the same time try to control the risk of breaking anything which would stop our attempt."

This voyage has already been marked by several breakages - and extraordinary repairs en route by Cheyenne's experienced international crew. A broken forestay (critical to holding up the mast) was fixed at day 19 off South Africa. The track holding the mainsail on the mast tore off just before Cape Horn. "The creative ability of these guys to make major repairs without stopping will account for our success if we break this record," Fossett said.

Steve Fossett is best known for achieving the First Solo Balloon Flight Around the World in July 2001 - after six spectacular attempts. But he is also, of course, an accomplished sailor who has set 21 official world records since 1993, including the TransAtlantic Record from New York to England in an astounding 4 days 17 hours (2001) and twice setting the 24 hour record of sailing (1999, 2001). But the Round The World Sailing record is the target that still drives him:
"This would cap my sailing career. The Round the World record is the most important of all. And to be the first American to hold this record in almost 20 years would be another bonus."
Team meteorologist Ken Campbell of Commanders Weather has estimated that Cheyenne could finish as early as 1800 GMT on April 7 (60-1/2 days). The finish is a N-S line from Ouessant island France to the UK landmark 'The Lizard' in Cornwall - where Fossett and his crew started just over 50 days ago.

The last American attempt on the global sailing record was the successful solo voyage of Dodge Morgan, who sailed around the world from Bermuda in 150 days in 1985-86 on American Promise. His record was broken in 1990 by Titouan Lamazou of France in 109 days. Since then, the RTW record has been successively reduced to the present 64 day target by the great multihull

Cheyenne at the Equator

Sunday 28 March 2004 - 0813 GMT - position 0 degrees latitude, 28 38 W longitude - 70 miles South of St Peter's and St Paul's Rocks (Br): Just 3 hrs and 3 minutes into their 51st day at sea Steve Fossett and crew aboard the 125' maxi-catamaran Cheyenne have crossed the Equator for a second time on their Round The World Sailing record attempt - this time Northbound, over 3 days ahead of the pace of current RTW record holder Orange I from 2002. They are now some 3250 nm from the official RTW finish line (a N-S line between Ouessant island off France and the UK landmark 'The Lizard' in Cornwall) - which they hope to cross in another 10-11 days.

Fossett and crew ended their 50th RTW day this morning having logged an impressive 543 nm (avg 22.6 kts) over the past 24 hours through what are normally 'The Doldrums' in their race towards the finish. But the Doldrums - with their associated calms and local storms - now still lie to the North, and promise to be difficult - with the worst squalls predicted between 00 40 N & 01 30 N.

Fossett and Cheyenne's target is the most important record in sailing: Orange I's 2002 RTW record (skipper Bruno Peyron) of 64 days 8 hours 37 minutes 24 seconds from Ouessant - Ouessant.

Geronimo Takes a Beating

The trimaran's anemometer readout rarely fell below 45 knots on Day 31 of this attempt. With no sail flown at all, the boat was sailing under her mast alone. It became difficult to move, everything was soaking wet and icy cold, the sea was monstrous, with a westerly swell and 7-metre waves coming from the south. Didier was suffering with his back, and multiple injuries and fatigue were making manoeuvres dangerous. The 11-man French crew have taken a real beating over the past two days.

"CRAPPY SEA BRRRRR
VERY HARD ASKING MYSELF HOW LONG WE CAN
CARRY ON IN THESE DANGEROUS CONDITIONS
GET THE FEELING THAT WINTERS
ALREADY HERE WIND ROTATIONS VERY BRUTAL
AND UNSAILABLE LATER OLIVIER"

A short period of respite is expected this afternoon before part two of the beating begins tonight (dawn in the antipodes). With "only" 40 knots of southerly wind, this new "punch-up" is forecast to sweep an area from 40°S to 60°S east of New Zealand and is moving rapidly east, where a very deep depression is now stationary at 52°S, right across the route to the Horn. A welcome toast from the Pacific, no doubt.

Saturday's Star

Finally, the blustery winds that all week had plagued Biscayne Bay gave way to a more user-friendly breeze. Rejoicing at the morning forecast of 18-22 knots, organizers sent the competitors at the 2004 US Olympic Team Trials-Sailing out for an on-time start. Not only did the forecast hold true, but also it allowed three races to be completed by the Star fleet who raced for the second day in a row under the watchful eyes of VIP observers: Bill Martin (Ann Arbor, Mich.), past President of US SAILING and currently Acting President of the U.S. Olympic Committee (Colorado Springs, Colo.), who was on the water yesterday; and Janet Baxter (Chicago, Ill.), who is not only the current President of US SAILING, but also the first woman to hold that position in the organization’s history, went out to watch today’s action.

The added attention evidently did not change the strategy of conservative sailing that continues to keep Paul Cayard (Kentfield, Calif.) and Phil Trinter (Lorain, Ohio) in the lead position of the 22-boat fleet. Today the duo placed 4-3-5 to earn a low score of 24 points — and 22 points of breathing room over their closest competitor.

Once 12 races were completed the scoring rules allowed competitors to take a second drop in calculating the overall standings. Reaping the most benefit were Andy Lovell (New Orleans, La.) and Olympic Gold Medallist Magnus Liljedahl (Miami, Fla.) who rocketed up to second overall once they were able to discard the OCS (on the course side) and the DNS (did not start) they earned on day one of racing – a byproduct of losing their mast. Between the points they dropped, and the eight they added after finishing 5-1-2 today, the pair hold second with 46 points.

George Szabo (San Diego, Calif.) and crew Mark Strube (West Palm Beach, Fla.) posted finishes of 8-9-8 today to drop back from second to third in the overall standings on 48 points.

For the second day in a row, Eric Doyle (San Diego, Calif.) and Brian Sharp (Norwalk, Conn./Franklin, Mass.) won the first race of the day. They followed with a sixth and a fifth, the latter of which became an OCS. They remain fourth overall with 61 points.

Olympic Gold Medallists Mark Reynolds (San Diego, Calif.) and Steve Erickson (Seattle, Wash./Hood River, Ore.) won the final race of the day after finishing 3-11 in the earlier races. They stand fifth overall with 61 points.

Cheyenne Nears Equator

Summary Now 1410 miles (3 days) ahead of RTW record pace

Cheyenne makes 516 miles North Friday averaging 21.5 kts

Saturday 27 March 2004 - 0510 GMT - 238 miles E of Recife, Pernambuco, Brasil, 567 miles S of the Equator: Steve Fossett and his team aboard Cheyenne had an excellent run North yesterday riding E and SE trades, and began their 50th day at sea this morning with a 3 day lead over the RTW record pace of current record holder Orange I. Their run of 516 nm (avg 21.5 kts) leaves them 567 nm from the Equator - which they hope to cross Sunday (Doldrums permitting), and a little less than 4000 miles (minimum course distance) back to the official WSSRC start-finish line, drawn between the French island of Ouessant and the UK landmark of The Lizard, Cornwall.

Back in the Pacific, Olivier de Kersauson and his team on the 114' French trimaran Geronimo spent part of Friday negotiating a small Low pressure system, covering 317 nm, ending their day 795 miles behind the equivalent Day 30 position of Cheyenne.

Geronimo in 50 Knots

After a day of struggle, Geronimo finds herself at the centre of a storm which has been intensifying since last night. She cannot go further north, where the sea state is even worse, nor can she go south, because of the threat of ice. The 11-man crew are trying to escape to the east-northeast, with over 50 knots of wind howling at their heels. Even in these damaging and dangerous conditions, the Cap Gemini and Schneider Electric trimaran is still managing to average 19.5 knots.

Due to its low temperature (4.5°C at midday today), the air is very dense, and combined with 50 knots of wind, has quickly raised a sea that is very difficult, not to say impossible, for multihulls. Together with her special design, the exceptional level of crew involvement at every stage of the trimaran's design and construction has resulted in a boat made by sailors for sailors. This boat is capable of holding off catamarans 20% longer and more powerful than herself, but is also, and crucially so, a boat designed for the high seas. That's the trademark of this crew led by Olivier de Kersauson, Didier Ragot and Yves Pouillaude: the development of exceptional racing craft, built for speed, even in the worst possible conditions. In the tradition of Sport-Elec, loaned to Francis Joyon this winter for his round-the-world record voyage, it is now Geronimo's turn to step up and prove her exemplary qualities.

The fact remains that these conditions are more damaging to men and machine than conducive to pure speed. The crew can hardly wait for the end of this punishing day in which the elements will inevitably have the final word....

1 Race Friday

For the second day in a row, high winds kept the 22 Star teams competing in the 2004 US Olympic Team Trials-Sailing postponed ashore in hopes that the early morning winds, with gusts to 35 knots, would decrease. Between noon and 1300, reports from observers on Biscayne Bay indicated breeze of 18-20 knots, which got the sailors off the dock. Although two races were sailed in 15-19 knots, it did not change the positions among the top-four teams in the overall scoring.

Eric Doyle (San Diego, Calif.) and Brian Sharp (Norwalk, Conn./Franklin, Mass.) won the first race of the day, and followed with an eighth place finish in race two to remain fourth overall with 54 points.

Vince Brun and Mike Dorgan (both San Diego, Calif.), after adding today’s finishes of 11-6, carry 51 points for third-place overall in the standings.

George Szabo (San Diego, Calif.) has been quoted this week as preferring flat water and light winds. That preference seems not to have adversely affected his performance in the rougher water and blustery winds that have earmarked the two days of racing since the layday. Finishes of 3-3 today kept Szabo and crew Mark Strube (West Palm Beach, Fla.) in second overall, but lost them a bit of ground on the point spread between themselves and the series leaders. With 32 points, they are 15 points behind Paul Cayard (Kentfield, Calif.) and Phil Trinter (Lorain, Ohio). Cayard and Trinter added only 3 points to their total after they won the final race of the day, having placed second in the first race. They now have 17 points for the lead.

Olympic medalists Mark Reynolds (San Diego, Calif.) and Steve Erickson (Seattle, Wash./Hood River, Ore.) moved back into the top-five, after finishing 7-4 today, and carry 59 points.

Water Level Update

Below you'll find water level info that pertains to Lakes Michigan and Huron.

Reference Point- Measurements in Inches

Difference from Chart Datum -4
Difference from last month +3
Difference from last year +7
Difference from long term average for March -17
Difference from Record High -47
Difference from Record Low +13
Forecast for 26 April 2004 +4

Click for information on other lakes.

Linky Sailing News

Racing Cayard sails safe

News NZL OLY opinion. Swedish Match Cup

Great Lakes Lakers to be busy. Endangered places.

College Sailing Georgetown defends MAISA/SAISA

International Rolex Regatta USVI

Personalities at the 31st annual International Rolex Regatta in St. Thomas, USVI, are proving to be as colorful as rainbow spinnakers against an azure blue sky. With racing at the three-day event starting tomorrow, March 26, and continuing through the weekend, hundreds of sailors registered on 92 boats have prepared for the regatta's traditional mix of tough competition, warm Caribbean breezes and blue-water courses. Crew rosters are sprinkled with high-profile names from the America's Cup and Olympic arenas, as well as those famous in these Caribbean parts for their own notable accomplishments.

"I've sailed all over the world," said Geordie Shaver, the bowman on BMW Oracle Racing during the last America's Cup, "but I've never raced here, so it's going to be a real treat." Shaver, from Newport, R.I., is taking his turn as bowman on the Farr 65 Team Atlantic, skippered by Bill Dockser of Bethesda, Md. The boat is entered in the Spinnaker Racer/Cruiser Class 1 and will compete against eight others, including Igoodia, a Jeanneau 52.2 that won its class at the recent Heineken Regatta and was named most worthy boat in that event's 'round-the-island race.

Another America's Cup notable, Josh Belsky of Hood River, Ore., will also transfer his skills--as pit man for Alinghi--to the position of pit man for Tom Hill's Puerto Rican entry, Titan XII, in the Spinnaker Racing ("Over 50 ft.") Class. The Reichel/Pugh 75 also will have onboard Peter Holmberg, the Commodore of the St. Thomas Yacht Club who is not only an America's Cup veteran, but also an Olympic medallist and past Rolex Regatta winner. The Over 50 foot Class will have seven boats competing, including past favorites Equation, an Andrews 68 owned by Bill Alcott of Detroit, Mich., and the custom 72 Donnybrook, owned by Jim Muldoon of Washington, DC. Added to the class mix this year will be Richard Matthew's (Ipswich, UK) Corby 50 Flirt, which won its class last year at this event; Raincloud, a J/145 48-footer owned by David Leuschen of New York, N.Y.; the custom 44-footer Storm, owned by Les Crouch of Henderson, Nevada; and Rosebud, Reichel/Pugh Transpac 52 owned by Roger Sturgeon of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Headlining in the Beach Cat division is Puerto Rico's designated 2004 Olympic Tornado team and defending champions Enrique Figueroa and Jorge Hernandez. The duo, known as Team Movistar/Suzuki/Red Bull, decided to sail a Hobie Tiger, an 18 footer that is popular in Europe and which Figueroa, the Hobie dealer in Puerto Rico, is trying to promote in the islands. "It is very much faster than a regular Hobie 18 and more like our Olympic Tornado." Figueroa explained that a Portsmouth Handicap system will keep them honest, however, when it comes to matching up with the other catamarans in their class.

The fun is not all reserved for the top-end racers. Plenty of cruising boats are signed up, one of them a J/30 named Zing built in 1979 and owned by native St. Thomian Chris Thompson, whose father, Rudy Thompson, represented the USVI in the Flying Dutchman class at the 1967 Olympics. According to Chris, who has sailed in the event for 20 years and wears one of the three Rolex's he and his father have won here, the regatta isn't necessarily about racing with hot equipment. "It's about sailing with friends and doing the best you can with what you've got." Chris just took ownership of Zing and will sail in the Non-Spinnaker Racing division with his father, now 75 years old, as one of his crew. Zing's class will sail separate courses from the Spinnaker Racing divisions.

Having their own race circle for the first time will be the IC24s, which have exploded growth-wise in the Caribbean. Introduced to the regatta in 2001, the boat is a hybrid design, constructed from an old J/24 hull with a new deck mold similar to the Melges 24. The result is a yacht that is relatively high-performance, very inexpensive and more comfortable to sail than a J/24. The IC24 class will be packed with local talent, including the class's founder and four-time Rolex winner in the Melges 24 class Chris Rosenberg aboard Old and Gray.

Complete results, photos and competitor lists are online.

Geronimo Day 30

The Cap Gemini and Schneider Electric trimaran crossed the Jules Verne Trophy start line at 23:17 GMT on 25 February, so the position fix taken at 23:16:56 GMT on Thursday 25 March marked the first month (minus 4 seconds) at sea for Olivier de Kersauson and his crew.

This 30th day at sea, logically referred to on our spreadsheets as "Day 29" because electronic counters begin at zero, rather than at 1 as we humans are prone to do, was decidedly one of round numbers.

In fact, the trimaran covered 480 nautical miles point-to-point in the 24 hours, at an average speed of exactly 20 knots.

Reporting a position of 53°09S, 149°29E, Geronimo ended Thursday having taken a slight diversion to the north in order to skirt around a windless pocket shown up by the weather maps. There is every reason to suppose that she will resume her infernal east-southeasterly route as quickly as possible.

Cheyenne Back Up to Speed

Summary: 244 nm run past 24 hours takes Cheyenne back to stronger breeze 1032 miles (2-1/2 days) ahead of RTW record pace 612 miles S of Recife, Pernambuco, Brasil

A steady day's run of 244 nm tacking upwind (avg 10.16 kts) Thursday has taken Steve Fossett and his Round the World Sailing record attempt crew aboard the 125' maxi-cat Cheyenne to the southern hemisphere tropical tradewinds - finally. At 0510 this morning (location 18 00S, 32 17W) they were making 20.4 kts in a 15 kt Easterly breeze after 3 slow days in the light airs off Rio de Janeiro.

Their lead over the 2002 RTW record pace of Orange I is now back to 1032 miles (2-1/2 days). Several days of good running North are now expected until the ITCZ (inter tropical convergence zone) - also known as the doldrums - is reached, with the milestone of Equator still hoped for on Sunday.

Windy Condtions for Star Trials

With both Star sailors and organizers anxious to resume racing after yesterday’s layday, the Race Committee sent an observer out on blustery Biscayne Bay to take wind readings after early-morning reports came in at 15-22 knots. Armed with the information that the observer never recorded anything in excess of 18 knots, the fleet competing in the 2004 US Olympic Team Trials-Sailing headed out to the course where half an hour before the noon start, winds ranged from 13-18 knots. Under conditions acknowledged as “excellent for Star sailing,” the course was set for W-2 (windward-leeward twice around). However, by noon the winds had increased to 18-21, and by the time the lead boats had completed the first two legs, winds had increased from 22-25 knots – with gusts as high as 32 – resulting in a decision not to run additional races for the day, once the race in progress was completed.

With their win of the only race sailed today, George Szabo (San Diego, Calif.) and Mark Strube (West Palm Beach, Fla.) have improved another position in the overall scoring. They have been steadily improving their placement over the course of the series, and today’s win, their second thus far in eight races, puts them 12 points behind series leaders Paul Cayard (Kentfield, Calif.) and Phil Trinter (Lorain, Ohio). Cayard and Trinter finished fourth today and now stand first overall with 14 points.

Vince Brun and Mike Dorgan (both San Diego, Calif.), dropped back one place to third overall after adding a 10th-place finish to their scoreline. With 34 points, they trail Szabo and Strube by eight points.

Posting an 11th-place finish didn’t cost Eric Doyle (San Diego, Calif.) and Brian Sharp (Norwalk, Conn./Franklin, Mass.) anything in the overall scoring. In fact the two moved up from fifth to fourth on the strength of 45 points. Rounding out the top-five in the overall scores, one point behind Doyle and Sharp, are John MacCausland (Cherry Hill, N.J.) and Brad Nichol (Sunapee, N.H.) after finishing eighth today.

Racing continues tomorrow, Friday, March 26, through Sunday, March 28. The Race Committee will plan for three races each of the remaining competition days in an attempt to complete the planned 16-race series.

2004 America's Cup Schedule

The first three Acts in the four-year story of the 32nd America’s Cup will take place during September and October, 2004, with three regattas to be sailed at two different venues. Michel Bonnefous, the CEO of AC Management, organiser for the America’s Cup, made the announcement on the occasion of a gala dinner hosted in Paris by Louis Vuitton.

“We are delighted to be able to divulge the 2004 competition programme for the 32nd America’s Cup here, at the home of our friends at Louis Vuitton,” Bonnefous said.

“When we unveiled the plans for the 32nd America’s Cup last November we spoke of an exciting new format for the competition, the dawn of new era for this already epic saga.

“We see the America’s Cup as a play, whose theatre is Europe, whose main venue is Valencia, and whose story will unfold, as in a play, across a number of acts,” Bonnefous explained.

“The first three Acts of the 32nd America’s Cup will take place in 2004, several more in 2005 and 2006. The climax of any play comes with the final Act, and in 2007, we will bring you the Louis Vuitton Cup and the America’s Cup Match, the denouement of our story.

“But back to 2004, with Act 1 in Marseille, and Acts 2 and 3 in Valencia - we are sure the first scenes in this play will be full of characters and emotion, action, drama, and intrigue, setting the scene for what is to come later on,” Bonnefous concluded.

The location for the disclosure of the sports programme for 2004 was the family house of Louis Vuitton in Asnières, Paris. Hosting the evening was Yves Carcelle, President of Louis Vuitton, and present among his guests were, Francisco Camps Ortiz, Presidente de la Generalitat Valenciana, Rita Barbera, Mayoress of Valencia, and France Gamerre, Adjoint Mayor of Marseille.

“I am delighted that these first Acts, which bear the name Louis Vuitton, will be in Marseille and Valencia – two cities which share a long passion for the America’s Cup,” said Yves Carcelle. “I am also happy to see the programme coming together so quickly, and that the hard work of AC Management is already bearing fruit.”

Representatives of the Defender Alinghi, along with the three French Challenger projects, Le Défi, K-Challenge and Team France were also amongst the guests, all of whom declared their intentions to compete this year. Several other projects are expected to join them in the races in Marseille and Valencia. The Defender, Alinghi, and the Challenger of Record, Oracle BMW Racing, will attend all three Acts.

The Marseille Louis Vuitton Act will feature an exciting format of both fleet and match racing, over a week-long programme.

One month later the America’s Cup teams will get their first taste of racing in Valencia during Act 2 of the 32nd America’s Cup. Spanish fans of the America’s Cup are to be treated to a spectacular double billing of action as the latest ACC boats battle just metres from the shore.

Racing for Act 2 begins on the 5th of October with a dramatic match race event based in the Host City of the 32nd America’s Cup and will conclude with a spectacular celebration on Spain’s National Day, the 12th October. Act 3 concludes the season with four days of fleet racing beginning on the 14th October.

The 2004 Sports Programme for the 32nd America’s Cup :

Marseille Louis Vuitton / Act 1 of the 32nd America’s Cup : 5th – 11th September : Fleet and Match Racing

Valencia Louis Vuitton / Act 2 of the 32nd America’s Cup : 5th – 12th October Match Racing

Valencia Louis Vuitton / Act 3 of the 32nd America’s Cup : 14th 17th October Fleet Racing

New America's Cup Entry

A new challenge for the America’s Cup from the Circolo Vela Gargnano (CVG) has been accepted by the Defender, the Société Nautique de Genève (SNG).

The CVG, represented by the Clan Des Team sailing team, is the first challenger to join the Golden Gate Yacht Club’s Oracle BMW Racing team in challenging for the 32nd America’s Cup.

Lorenzo Rizzardi is President of the challenging yacht club and Head of Syndicate for the Clan Des Team.

One of Italy’s leading yacht clubs, situated in the picturesque town of Gargnano on the western side of Lake Garda, the CVG is well known in sailing circles as being the organiser of the famous Centomiglia Race, a marathon 100-miler up and down the lake in September each year.

A specialty of European lake sailing is the Libera Class open 40-foot monohull class, with huge rigs and numerous crew on trapezes.

In 2003 the Centomiglia was won by Clan Des Team in its Libera Class and it is this sailing team that has challenged through the CVG.

Reflecting on how it felt to become a challenger for the America’s Cup, Clan
Des Team’s Technical Director, Cesare Pasotti said: “It’s an incredible feeling because it is everybody’s dream to race for the America’s Cup. This is like a very beautiful dream. That’s the best way I can describe it.”

The challenge from the CVG was accepted by President Pierre-Yves Firmenich, on behalf of the Defender, the Société Nautique de Genève.

“This is the first new challenger for the 32nd America’s Cup, joining Oracle BMW Racing, the Challenger of Record, and of course our team, Alinghi,” Firmenich said. “I welcome the Clan Des Team to the America’s Cup and I wish them the very best of luck.”

The challenge process for the CVG was completed on the 25th March after the club fulfilled a number of formalities as well as posting a performance bond, as is required from each challenger. At that point, a registered letter from the SNG was dispatched to Mr. Rizzardi in Italy, reading in part:

“The Société Nautique de Genève hereby confirms its acceptance of Circolo Vela Gargnano’s challenge to compete in the 32nd America’s Cup.”

Rizzardi and Pasotti didn’t wish to reveal many details about their challenge, keeping their counsel when asked about potential skippers or boat designers. The team is planning a public launch on the 23rd April in Milan.

But Pasotti said the Clan Des Team intended to race in the first Act of the 32nd America’s Cup in Marseille in September 2004, and in the two Valencia Louis Vuitton Acts in October as well.

“It’s important to have many opportunities to create value for our partners so the idea of all the different events for the next four years of this America’s Cup programme, is very important for us,” Pasotti acknowledged. “We intend to participate in the events this year.”

The team expects to have two ACC boats training on Lake Garda this summer and to use a third boat to compete in the 2004 Acts, in Marseille and Valencia.

Pasotti went on to reveal that the Clan Des Team plan calls for two new ACC boats to be built in advance of the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger series in 2007.

Whilst it is extremely rare for a challenger to win the America’s Cup on its first attempt Pasotti says the Clan Des Team has its sights set on capturing sailing’s biggest prize.

“We are challenging to win,” Pasotti said moments after the challenge was accepted. “We don’t participate just to be there, we want to win.”

It should be remembered that the current Defender, the SNG was the last club based on a lake to challenge for the America’s Cup. The Swiss club won the America’s Cup from New Zealand in March 2003.

The Circolo Vela Gargnano is a 53-year old club on the shores of Lake Garda. Apart from its flagship event, the Centomiglia, it hosts an active racing programme, and has organised many world-class regattas.

Italy has had a strong presence in recent America’s Cup competition, fielding challengers in the last five of the last seven America’s Cups, winning the Louis Vuitton Cup twice (Il Moro de Venezia in 1992 and Luna Rossa in 2000).

Cheyene Day 47

Summary: 276 miles run to NE

941 miles ahead of RTW record pace

Day of tacking ahead

Thursday 25 March 2004 - 0510 GMT - 600 nm due East of Rio de Janeiro: It took them two tries to break through the Low pressure trough yesterday morning, but since then Cheyenne has crossed the Tropic of Capricorn and continued to work towards the NE and E. Eventually 276 miles of progress (avg 11.5 kts) in the right general direction have left Steve Fossett and crew aboard Cheyenne with a lead of 941 miles over the 2002 Round The World Sailing record pace of Orange I and looking forward to - another long day of tacking North.
Navigator Adrienne Cahalan wrote this morning:

"We are currently beating upwind in 15kts of north east wind and will be for the next few days as we punch through up to and in the south east trades. We still have a day of tacking to get to the south east trades as the low pressure system to our west has disrupted their normal pattern. We do not anticipate that we will see the trademark, trade wind blue skies and nice small white cumulus until about latitude 17S. It will be important in the south east trades to pull out a couple of 450-500nm days to keep on record pace.
After the south east trades we pass into the ITCZ (the area of no wind at or near the equator) which is currently located at around latitude 2S. We are looking to pass through the ITCZ at about longitude 30W (where it is the smallest) on Saturday night or Sunday. After we cross the ITCZ and the equator we will be again be sailing upwind in the 15kt north east trade winds."

(For the rest of Adrienne's report - and her view of tropical fashion onboard - see full story below)

Tropic of Capricorn (latitude 23°27' South) marks the farthest point south at which the sun can be seen directly overhead at noon (on the Summer Solstice in the southern hemisphere December 22)

Geronimo Day 29

The first few hours of Day 29 have been just as good as, if not better than, yesterday for the trimaran Geronimo, as she continues to extend her lead over the current Jules Verne Trophy record.

Reporting a position of 52°44S, 138°47E at 03:18 GMT today (Thursday 25 March), the Cap Gemini and Schneider Electric crew were making a true spot speed of 26.1 knots, which is equivalent to a speed on land of 48.3 kph (30.18 mph).

Geronimo’s helmsman was following a heading of 97°: a route just south of due east.

“The light has been fantastic recently. We have inky blue skies that are almost black, with gold in the clouds – the sun’s even out – it’s extraordinary, really beautiful”… those were Olivier de Kersauson’s words spoken some days ago when describing the entrancing beauty of the Indian Ocean, the last few miles of which Geronimo is now charging across at full speed before entering the immensity of the Pacific.

Linky Sailing News

Racing Star Trials Report + photos. Star Euros

News Forbes best sailing sites.

Great Lakes Ferry launched. Indy dunes.

College Sailing Brown hosts, Kings Point Defends Owen Trophy.

Sailors and Their Stomachs

Kip Stone Open 50 owner and skipper "Since these sails don't come with directions, I find myself closer and closer to being able to write the instructive little handbook, "You and Your Code 5." It will come bundled with the definitive, "How to Eat out of a Pot," a very necessary little piece of writing in the event you plan to sail one of these boats alone and one that should help to fill a void while Martha is occupied with her defense."

From onboard Cheyenne Brian Thompson reports, "Today Guillermo brought out a stash of sauces to complement the fine selection of main meals so we have a choice of Thai, Caribbean and Louisiana sauces."

I believe I see an opportunity for some sponsorship synergy. How do you make freeze dried food palatable for a 60 day sailing voyage? Why we, the crew of really fast boat x, used Tabasco brand pepper sauces.... the skipper liked original, the port watch loved garlic Tabasco, while the bowman became found of Tabasco Habenero sauce on his cornflakes after repeatedly bashing his head against the mast....

Olivier de Kersauson had this to say upon passing Cape Leeuwin:
"We haven't had much wind for the last 20 hours or so, but there is wind ahead of us. What's coming looks good, but I'd prefer smaller seas!"

Yup, more evidence that flat seas are as important as wind with these big cats.

He also commented, "Today, my Jules Verne Trophy focus is Peyron's record. We must focus on him, because he has the record for the moment".

That's one way of looking at things. If I was in his sea boots I'd be pacing myself based on Cheyenne. I'd be trying to sail as fast as whoever was fastest whether an on paper record or a boat still on the water.

Neal McDonald: "Of the round the world races I have done by far the less stress full was a non-stop one."

As always, it's the land not sea that's the source of stress.

Lake Express Ferry Launches + Fares Announced

This past Satruday the 192 catamaran ferry that will begin Milwaukee-Muskegon ferry service on 1 June was launched. The ship has been named 'Lake Express'.

Fares have also been announced. You'll be able as a passanger to make a round trip for under $ 100.00. Complete fare structure is below.

On the launch barge

Out of the Build Shed

Side View

Transon with name and home port

Photos by Michelle Bowden Austal USA

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Lake Express Fare Structure

Fare Type	One Way	Round Trip
Adult	$50.00	$85.00
Car	$59.00	$118.00
Under Age 5	Free	Free
Ages 5 to 15	$24.00	$40.00
Age 67 & Up	$46.00	$82.00
Motorcycle	$30.00
Motorcycle with Sidecar	$60.00
Bicycle	$7.50
Trailer	$50.00

Jules Verne Update

The race for the Jules Verne trophy continues, although at a slower pace this past week. On Day 43 of her attempt, Cheyenne covered only 213 miles. This is the lowest daily mileage for either boat so far. Geronimo did manage 3 days over 500 miles, but as she neared Cape Leeuwin she had 3 straight days of only 350 miles.

Despite the current slow going both boats are ahead of current record pace. Last week Cheyenne rounded Cape Horn. Her time was 39 days 16 hours, 58 hours ahead of Orange's 2002 record. Most recent reports show her still 800 miles ahead of Orange despite some slow going.

Yesterday Geronimo rounded Australia's Cape Leeuwin. Her time was 26 days 11 hours. This is 68 hours faster than Orange. However, the time was 21 days slower than Cheyenne's mark.

The trend is that both boats are ahead of Orange, with Cheyenne having a slight edge over Geronimo. For insance after 27 days-the current length of Geronimo's voyage- Cheyenne has an 800+ mile edge.

Cheyenne is sailing upwind in light air, fun for no known type of boat. The light air traverse north to Europe is what ended Geronimo's chance at the record last year. Cheyenne's track is near the Brazillian coast while Orange's record track was much farther to the east. Neither is on a direct course to the finish. For Orange's record to fall creative, speed maximizing routing will have to replace high speed, high stakes chaos.

Biblical Tacking

Recently I received the following inquiry, "I am hoping you can help me, without much effort on your part, to establish when the general knowledge of tacking was gained? Our Bible Study group is trying to figure out the capabilities of the sailors/fishermen during the time of Jesus and in his vicinity. Did they know how to tack? We are trying to learn a little about the hardships faced by these fishermen when on the water. Any input would be appreciated, but please do not spend a lot of your time on this. "

I did some searching and found some good references . For instance, " As regards rigging, the Phoenician ships of the time of Ezekiel, as seen in Assyrian representations, had one mast with one yard and carried a square sail. Egyptian ships on the Red Sea about the time of the Exodus, from reliefs of the XIXth Dynasty, had one mast and two yards, and carried also one large square sail."

I would imagaine that tacking was known by Biblical sailors. However, square rigs are not an efficient upwind rig. I'm sure if possible oar power was used when sailing upwind. Also, I bet every effort was made to sail off the wind and avoid sailing inefficiently upwind.

A Biblical scholar I am not. I'd appreciate those with more knowledge helping answer this question.

Geronimo Passes Cape Leeuwin

Geronimo passed Cape Leeuwin at 10:50 GMT today, 26 days, 11 hours, 33 minutes after crossing the Jules Verne Trophy start line.

Geronimo therefore passed this second cape with a lead of 2 days, 19 hours and 49 minutes over the time set in 2002 by current record holder Bruno Peyron and the catamaran Orange.

The reference time for the current record (Bruno Peyron, Orange, 2002): 29 days, 7 hours, 22 minutes.

Cheyene Day 46

Summary: 234 miles run over past 24 hours on Eastward crossing of Low pressure trough

893 miles ahead of Orange I's 2002 RTW pace

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After spending most of the day heading East across the trough, with a very slow period late in the day, Cheyenne has been gradually heading again towards the NE since late Tuesday, (compass heading was 023 degrees at 0510 GMT today). Steve Fossett and crew covered 234 miles over the past 24 hours (averaging 9.75 kts) as they traversed the Low off the coast of Brasil. Their lead over the 2002 RTW record pace of Orange I is now 893 miles.

The target remains Bruno Peyron's 2002 official Round The World Sailing record of 64 days 8 hrs 37 mins 24 secs - and their attempt must arrive at the official WSSRC start-finish line (a line between the French island of Ouessant running North to The Lizard in Cornwall, UK) by Sunday afternoon, April 11th to break the record. That is, of course, some 18 days and 4700 nm distant - or a required average hourly speed of less than 11 kts. But that is also measured on a straight line - and a large High pressure area in the North Atlantic will probably see Fossett's team pushing well North before driving across the North Atlantic back to the line - for a greater remaining distance and higher average speed.

Linky Sailing News

Racing Cayard/Trinter's winning day. Cayard's story Geronimo at Cape Leeuwin, slow time for Cheyenne

News Water expected to be up. Alignhi's new hire. Artforms news. Fuel thoughts. Ditch bag. Mcdonald on vor

Great Lakes Ferry prices Beach safety. Cruise Ship Orion.

College Sailing This weekend: Minnesota defends ND Icebreaker

Double Bulletts for Cayard/Trinter

A blustery northerly that ushered in cooler temperatures also made for a speedy ride out to the racecourse once the postponement flag came down for the 22 Star teams competing in the 2004 US Olympic Team Trials-Sailing. During the morning, wind readings built from 14 to 20 knots, and were predicted to peak around noon at 24 knots before dropping off in the afternoon. When the first race got started at 1300, winds were recorded at 18 knots with puffs to 20, and, as predicted, by the start of the second race had dropped to 16 knots.

Paul Cayard (Kentfield, Calif.) and Phil Trinter (Lorain, Ohio) won both of the day’s races and go into tomorrow’s layday with the lead in hand. They are 14 points ahead of Vince Brun and Mike Dorgan (both San Diego, Calif.), who continued their move up the overall standings after posting finishes of 5-3 today. Just one point back, also moving up one spot – from fourth to third overall –are George Szabo (San Diego, Calif.) and Mark Strube (Miami, Fla.) after finishes of 4-2 today.

Eric Doyle (San Diego, Calif.) lost crew Brian Sharp (Norwalk, Conn./Franklin, Mass.) overboard during the second race and dropped two spots in the overall scoring – down to fifth – after placing 10-12 today. They have 34 points thus far for the series. Following four points back, in fifth overall, are John MacCausland (Cherry Hill, N.J.) and Brad Nichol (Sunapee, N.H.) who finished 15-5.

Tomorrow is a mandatory layday. Racing resumes on Thursday, March 25, 2004, when the Race Committee will attempt to run three races.

Readers Write

I often give advice on troubleshooting engines via email, phone and through our forum. Overheating is a common subject that I am asked about. In the case of an engine that seems to run hot or overheat I often ask if the engine has recently had impeller problems. If water flow is cut off, an impeller can burn up or disintegrate. When this happens pieces of the rubber impeller can take up residence in the cooling system and cause overheating issues.

Recently I received a report from a customer on troubleshooting his engine's overheating. Stay with it as there's a twist about how impellers can be the source of overheating towards the end.

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A while ago, I wrote to you about an overheating problem I had on my Universal M3-20 diesel. I feel compelled to tell you what happened with the overheating.

After tearing every part of the seawater cooling system off, replacing the hoses, replacing (and upgrading the size of) the heat exchanger, replacing the impeller a couple times and going through the fresh water side with a fine toothed comb, I came to the conclusion that there had to be a restriction on the inlet of the sea water pump.

Since I had taken the system apart piece by piece several times, I was certain that it had to be the thru-hull was sized too small for this engine in the temperature water we sail. In a last ditch effort to prove or disprove this, I decided to run a test.

A large tank (read: Garbage can) would be placed in the cabin, a submersible pump would feed that via a garden hose and a volume of water would be maintained in the tank to preclude any restriction in flow. A hose would be taken directly from the sea water pump on the engine to the tank. Since I needed a long hose, I would complete the operation by again replacing all the hoses on the engine.

Since this hose is far from cheap, I decided to start by removing a small section of the hose to take with me to make sure I got the right size and type. The shortest section was the one between the thru-hull and the strainer, so this is the one I removed.

On a whim, after the hose was out, I placed my hand over the top of the thru-hull valve and opened it. There was sufficient water flow to push my hand up! I looked at the volume of water coming in and realized that there was a helluva lot more water coming in than had ever come out the back end of our boat!. I shut the valve and decided to do some tracing. I put the hose section back in and removed the one from the outlet of the strainer. Opening the valve, I was again surprised to see a torrent of water! I pulled the hose off of the inlet to the seawater pump and repeated the process to again be surprised by the volume of water pouring out. Realizing that with the impeller blades blocking the way, I would not see a repeat of this were I to remove the hose on the outlet of the pump, I decided to once again investigate the inside of the pump.

The pump in question is an Oberdorfer with a 90 degree pipe elbow on the outlet and a 30 degree pipe elbow on the inlet. The inside of the pump was as clean as a whistle, and I again expected to see another flood of water when I opened the thru-hull, but instead, there was only a dribble! I had cleaned the outlet elbow on several occasions, but this was a new one on me.

My wife, looking over my shoulder with camera in hand, asked, "what is that in the inlet?" "Oh, it can't be anything in there. It would have to force stuff BACKWARDS against the flow if there was anything stuck in there." Just to prove her wrong about it possibly being fouled, I got out an Allen wrench and poked it into the 30 degree bend. Out came a palm full of old impeller parts! After digging them all out, I replaced the hose and opened the valve again. This time I had an awful lot of water. It didn't take me long to reassemble the engine cooling system and fire it up. For the first time since I have owned this boat, a bolt of water shot out the back of the boat about 6 feet long. We took the boat out on the bay and slowly throttled up. Prior to this, 4 1/2 knots, even in the winter, was about all we could get to. In short order, we were doing just under hull speed with the temp gauge acting like the needle had been nailed in the 160 degree position. Since then, we have upgraded to a 3 blade fixed prop and now reach hull speed, and the temp still doesn't go above 160.

About now you are probably thinking, "Well, this doofus fried an impeller and just didn't get it all out!" That would be a pretty fair assumption except that the engine was 10 years young when I bought this boat 2 years ago. At that time, the previous owner told me that he had always had temperature problems with this boat and that I would always be restricted to below 5 knots! I am hoping that between the removal of the "lifetime restriction" and the larger heat exchanger, I will not be temperature limited in this boat, no matter what temperature the seawater in the gulf gets to! The idea of impeller parts getting jammed into the INLET has left several respected mechanics scratching their heads at the end of this story. That, at least, allows me some degree of ego retention.

Karine Fauconnier daughter of a sailor

On 31st May 2004, yachtswoman Karine Fauconnier, skipper of the trimaran
Sergio Tacchini, will be lining up on the start of the most difficult
transatlantic yacht race, which the French refer to as the English Transat
and which this year is being run under the name The Transat. Karine is
competing 20 years after her father Yvon Fauconnier won the race on his
trimaran Umupro Jardin V, on 18th June 1984. A rather special win it was
too as Yvon changed course for several hours to rescue Philippe Jeantot
whose boat had capsized. Sailing in the wake of where her father raced his
way into international yacht racing history represents a major challenge
for Karine. In a few weeks, the only female skipper of a 60 foot trimaran,
currently lying third in the world rankings of the discipline, may well
add a further win to the Fauconnier family track record.

Under the new name of "The Transat", this single-handed passage is run
from Plymouth to Boston. Since 1960, this race has been considered as the
most trying of all transatlantic yacht races, taking the boats through the
cold and ice of the North Atlantic. Along with Yvon Fauconnier (1984),
other well-known yachtsmen feature in the race's history - Sir Francis
Chichester (1960), Eric Tabarly (1964 and 1976), Geoffrey Williams (1968),
Alain Colas (1972), Philip Weld (1980), Philippe Poupon (1988), Loïck
Peyron (1992 and 1996), Francis Joyon (2000),…

Karine was just 12 years old when she welcomed her father as he crossed
the finishing line to win the race in Newport (finish from 1964 to 2000).
Yvon belongs to the generation of ocean-racing pioneers from the 1980's
and this race remains the highlight of his racing career.

Yvon's win remained in people's minds for a long time. Yvon rescued
Philippe Jeantot whose catamaran Crédit Agricole II had capsized. Jeantot
used the radio on Umupro Jardin V to organise his boat's recovery. Yvon
spent 16 hours assisting his fellow competitor. In the home stretch of his
race, he sailed very fast indeed thanks to an excellent southerly option,
crossing the line just 11 hours after the first boat in to Newport, namely
Philippe Poupon. When the 16 hours were deducted from his race time, Yvon
was declared winner.

As the daughter of a yachtsman, Karine was lucky enough to spend the
first years of her life on board the famous Vendredi 13. The three-masted
schooner took part in several transatlantic races and was chartered in the
Carribean where she became the meeting point for a whole generation of
sailors. Karine grew up hearing tales of maritime adventures undertaken by
her the famous sailors who surrounded her - Philippe Poupon, Titouan
Lamazou, Florence Arthaud…

At the age of 24, she decided to set out in offshore racing. Since
starting out, she has made her mark on the Figaro circuit, winning the
Lorient-St Barth in 2000 with Lionel Lemonchois. Afterwards, in just two
seasons on board her trimaran Sergio Tacchini, she took 3rd in last
November's Transat Jacques Vabre 2003. Karine currently ranks 3rd in the
world in this discipline.

Local Notice to Mariners go Electronic

To improve service and reduce costs, the U.S. Coast Guard is moving to issuance of the Local Notices to Mariners (LNM) exclusively via the Internet.

Recently, we revised our Aids to Navigation (AtoN) Manual (COMDTINST M16500.7) to authorize elimination of printed LNM. Effective April 1, 2004, the U.S. Coast Guard will no longer print and mail copies of each LNM.

A Notice concerning implementation of Internet delivery of LNM has been published in the Federal Register on March 2, 2004. The electronic versions of LNM appear on the U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center’s Website .

For many years, each U.S. Coast Guard district has printed and mailed LNM free of charge to any mariner requesting a subscription. LNM provide important safety information; however, the cost of printing and mailing has become prohibitive. Technology now allows us to provide LNM in a timelier and less costly manner via the Internet. All individuals are encouraged to register for List Server notification on the Navigation Center’s Website, so when LNM are posted for the district(s) in which you are interested, you will receive automatic notification of their availability.

Internet delivery of the LNM is part of a much larger U.S. Coast Guard effort to integrate, improve, and streamline the collection and dissemination of all navigation safety information

Cayard's Memories of Blackaller and Star's

The following dates from the 2001-2002 Volvo Ocean Race. Paul Cayard sailed one leg. During that leg one of his emails concerned his start in the Star Class. Now seems an appropriate time to post this as he is currently sailing the US Olympic Star Trials.

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Email from:
Amer Sports One
February 18, 2002 1407 GMT

A Story… Tom Blackaller, the king of sailing

ok, since the race has turned into watching grass grow, close grass
growing though, I'll share a story with you.

In 1978 Tom Blackaller, the king of sailing on San Francisco Bay, asked me
to crew for him in his Star. Blackaller was a two-time Star World
Champion with a character and charisma second to none. As keen as you'd
be, being 18 and being asked by the king of sailing, I said, “Absolutely,
positively,” then he told me the what, where, when and how.

The mission I had already signed up to was to drive the boat from San
Francisco to Toronto and back for the Star North American Championship.
Further, I was to get the boat fully prepared and measured. Tom would fly
in the night after the first race, as he was busy 'doing something else.'
Then, after the racing, Tom would fly out; I would pack up the boat and
drive back to San Francisco. It sounded reasonable to me.

Shortly after, I was contacted by Craig Healy, another young San Francisco
sailor like me, who wanted a ride to Kingston for a Laser race. So we
loaded the Laser on the roof of Blackaller's light blue, Chevrolet Malibu
station wagon, a.k.a. the blue pig, and hooked up 'Faster Horses' (6150
for you Star trivia buffs) and headed out.

About 68 hours later, young Healy and even younger Cayard arrived in
Toronto. First mission was to get to the club. It is out on an island.
There are many sub stories that include having 'royal letters' (official
admonishments) being written back to St. Francis Yacht Club for
ungentlemanly behaviour, such as taking your shirt off in 90 degrees heat,
while washing the boat in the boat park, but I wont get into those now.
If you haven't been to the Royal Canadian Yacht Club, then ask someone who
has, like our Presidente Paul Henderson {President of ISAF].

So I got the boat washed, and organized, measured every piece of rigging
to make sure all was equal side to side, mast up, just like my written
instructions indicated. Beyond that, I put a big effort into making sure
my area, the jib sheet controls, was well marked and equal side to side.
This was my tryout, the biggest opportunity of my sailing career. I am a
meticulous person by nature and I did not skimp here. I presented the
boat for measurement and went through all the formalities. I even
daringly and without written permission took the boat out for a spin
asking Ding Schoonmaker if he thought it would be ok.

Finally the day of the first race arrived and I was sad to see everyone
leave the dock and our boat just sitting there. Dennis Conner and my
friend Ron Anderson (2 x four gold bars.. that means two time World
Championship winning crew) won the race. Sure enough, Tom showed up that
night, with a girlfriend and all three of us piled into one hotel room.
He hadn't seen the girlfriend in a while, I think more to the point, she
hadn't seen anyone in a while. So no one slept very well. Another part
of the educational process for young Cayard getting older and wiser by the
minute.

Next day...to say that I was keen was an understatement. I was keen. I
fully expected that Tom and I would win this regatta. My mother used to
get mad at the people I crewed for if we did not win. We had a bit of a
delay at the ferry from downtown to the island where the club is, because
Tom said some unkind things to the ferryboat captain who tried to enforce
the blazer requirement on Tom. You can imagine how that discussion went,
between the king and this poor 'bus driver'. Anyway we made our way to
the island and launched a glistening 6150.

Out on the course 45 minutes early, we checked the line thoroughly and had
a good start in about 12 knots of wind. Tom was a bit tired and jet lagged
as he had had a hard 24 hours so I was just happy that we were up in the
noise. We rounded the first leeward mark about fourth in a bunch with DC,
Buchan, Melges, Schoonmaker and Knowles. I pulled the jib in and hiked my
measly 210 lbs over the side and waited about 30 seconds to let things
settle in. Then I popped the question that led to a career marking
statement from my mentor...

pc: 'How's the jib?'
tdb: high pitched voice, 'What?'
pc: 'How is the jib trim?'
tdb: higher pitched voice, 'What?'
pc: 'How is the jib? I mean, is it on the marks? Are you happy with the
jib?'
tdb: 'Oh, anywhere in there is fine. If that was important I'd be doing
it.'

Whoa. I felt about that big. I just curled up in a ball on the side of
the boat and did not say another word for the rest of the beat.

I felt about that big just then but I am not easily deterred. I went on
to sail many a regatta with Tom including two America's Cups. I miss him
and wish he could see how much good he did for me.

I'll have a beer for you Tom in Rio.

Paul Cayard

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Note: THe 1978 North Americans were not completed due to lack of wind. Blackaller won the North Americans in 1968 with noted yacht designer Gary Mull as crew and was a two time Star World Champion. In 1994 Cayard won the Star NA's sailing in Marblehead MA.

Round the World Team Begins Crew Selection

Annapolis, MD (March 22, 2004) - Team Kan-Do (tm), the Chesapeake Bay entry in the Volvo Ocean Race Round the World 2005 - 2006, announced today the start of their racing crew selection process with a review committee led by world class Annapolis sailor Terry Hutchinson. Hutchinson, an America's Cup and Volvo Race veteran plus holder of multiple world championship titles, is a member of the Team Kan-Do Global Advisory Board. He has agreed to lead a hand-picked review committee which will begin the daunting challenge of wading through the mountain of sailing crew applications that Kan-Do has received.

With the launch of the Kan-Do web site in October 2003, competitive sailors worldwide were invited to apply to join this global team of individuals that exemplify a positive view of life, can be role models, and, as a group, are determined to help each other reach the pinnacle of ocean racing. Professional sailors with former VOR/Whitbread, America's Cup, and BT Challenge experience were encouraged to apply as skipper, navigator, and watch captains. Other slots were designated for sailors who may not be professionals but have reached significant levels of experience in one-design, maxi and offshore racing. Team Kan-Do remains committed to their hybrid crew concept, and is clearly focused to build a team capable and determined to achieve an overall podium finish. Applicants were advised that the selection process included a formal application, team building, psychological and physiological testing and significant time sailing.

The resulting avalanche of several hundred applications surprised the Team and confirmed the notion that there is a huge interest in such an opportunity. A large untapped group of talented people eager and determined to race responded. The majority of individuals interested in racing for Kan-Do include high profile professionals with America's Cup, Volvo Race, Olympic and Open60 racing experience, who are not only interested in competing but more specifically want to help broaden the attraction of the sport and embody the concept and philosophy of Kan-Do. An impressive mix of every day citizens with highly-qualified backgrounds that dare to dream also applied. Hutchinson will assemble a group that will begin a first review to determine which of the applicants will make the second round and be invited for a more detailed screening and eventually receive invitations for sailing trials.

Expressing appreciation for Hutchinson's leadership of this effort, Bischoff said "We have been delighted to have Terry on our Team Kan Do Advisory Board. His sailing acumen and accomplishments on the water stand for themselves and we are happy that Terry will head our efforts to build a team capable of competing for a podium position in the Volvo Ocean Race. We have received so many applications that we must start the screening process now in order to give everyone a fair chance and be able to roll right into sailing trials and training once these start."

Alden echoes Bischoff's sentiments, "Terry exemplifies the Kan-Do values and spirit as a leader. He has shown numerous times his ability to excel on and off the water in building cohesive winning teams and we are confident that with his guidance, Team Kan-Do will not only select the right talent for the race but will also carry our ideas and philosophy to a larger market."

"I appreciate the confidence that John, Patrick and Team Kan-Do have in my abilities to help in the process of selecting a team," said Hutchinson. "With the announcement about Farr Yacht Design (r) and North Sails, this is a huge responsibility as Team Kan-Do will have the appropriate tools to achieve their goal of a podium finish in this race. One can argue that the result of Team Kan-Do will only be as good as the people racing the boat and I welcome the challenge of putting a successful team together."

The Volvo Ocean Race starts November 12, 2005 in Vigo, Galicia, Spain and ends in June 2006 in Northern Europe. For more information about Team Kan-Do see the official team web site: www.Kan-Do.com.

Linky Sailing News

Racing Star Trials Day 3 light air. North and warmth for Cheyenne, Geronimo follows along.

News Parlier's cat. Team NZL. NZL sailor withdraws. Bermuda gets women commodore

Great Lakes Ferry floats. When to open seaway? Shipping outlook is good. Cruise the lakes.

College Sailing Harvard wins St. Mary's womens. G'town

Yves Parlier's new seaplane inspired 60 foot catamaran

Photo by Thierry Martinez

B&Q In the Falklands

*B&Q arrives at the Falkland Islands to a warm welcome from the Royal Navy

IN DETAIL:

The 75ft B&Q trimaran arrived in the Falkland Islands this afternoon to a rapturous reception from the Royal Navy. Ellen and her crew were escorted into Mare Harbour with a fly over from two tornado jets and a host of island widlife, including cormorants and dolphins.

The trimaran will now remain in the Falkland Islands for the next week whilst the delivery crew, Mark Thomas & Loik Galon are dropped off and checks are done on the boat. Ellen will then prepare to leave with the trimaran on her maiden solo voyage.

ELLEN ON BOARD B&Q:

"The welcome into the Harbour has been just awesome. We have been truly welcomed in style by the Navy and the wildlife alike. The cormorants flying alongside were just so tame and just kept on swooping and gliding along with the boat. As for the tornados, wow, they were really fantastic, the loops and flyovers really was a sight to see. We are very lucky to have witnessed them at such close range."

ellen x

Geronimo Nears Cape Leeuwin

Geronimo has very little wind and forecasters are working flat out to answer the burning question of what time the trimaran will cross the longitude of Cape Leeuwin on this, her 27th day at sea.

At 05:11 GMT today (Tuesday 23 March), the Cap Gemini and Schneider Electric trimaran was reporting a position of 50°01S, 113°04E, 54 nautical miles west of the longitude of Cape Leeuwin. She was still making slow progress in terms of longitude and had crossed the 50°S parallel a few moments before.

At 07:16 GMT, she was only 39 nautical miles from the longitude of Cape Leeuwin, which marks her exit from the Indian Ocean and her entry into the Pacific.

At that time, she was reporting a true spot speed of 9.8 knots.
It's all about figures now…

Cheyene Day 45

394 miles East of Florianopolis, Brasil: Speeding NE along the Brasilian coast West of the Low, another excellent day's run of 539 nm (avg 22.2 kts) has helped Steve Fossett and crew aboard Cheyenne to stretch their lead over the 2002 Round The World Sailing record pace to 1040 miles on the water.

More importantly, the relatively direct NE course plotted so far through the S Atlantic by Fossett and Navigator Adrienne Cahalan means that the 125' Morrelli & Melvin designed catamaran is again over 4 days ahead of Orange's 2002 track based on latitude comparison, although this will diminish somewhat as Cheyenne slowly bridges the trough of Low pressure looming to the East.
Watch Captain David Scully wrote last night on on the course:

"The last 48 hours have seen us take a significant bite out of the miles to the line, reaching up the Brasilian coast at well over 20 kts. We are working our way west around a pocket of low pressure. Tomorrow, speed will drop off as we slide through a trough extending north of the low, and then we hope to pick up the trades for the trip to the Equator."

Skipper Steve Fossett wrote this morning on upcoming strategies:

"Today we have a difficult transition to cross a Low trough to the east. This will be very slow. So we will lose ground in the comparison to Orange for today. Then we will enter the Tradewinds tomorrow afternoon and have a good run to the Equator.

Then the North Atlantic is forecast to be dominated by a large High Pressure system which extends far north. We will have to sail a lot of extra miles to get around and over the top of this High. It is likely to be the longest route that any of the previous record attempts have had to take."

Szabo Day 3 Star Trials Winner

Three attempts to get a race off at the 2004 US Olympic Team Trials-Sailing were all foiled today by light and fluky air that started out from 320 degrees, went around to 130-140, and finally ended up at 70 degrees by the time boats were crossing the finish of today's lone race. The sailors endured a ninety minute postponement on the water with not a breath of wind to break the haze, before the arrival of a light breeze that never made it over 10 knots.

It was a good race, and well worth waiting until 3:20 p.m. to start- said Jonathan Harley (Middletown, R.I.), US SAILING+IBk-s Olympic Director. The Race Committee will attempt to run three races tomorrow, with the first start holding at noon, in an effort to get back on track before Wednesday's layday.

George Szabo (San Diego, Calif.) and Mark Strube (Miami, Fla.) won today's race, the fifth of the series. With five races figured into the scoring, the 22 Star teams can now drop their worst race thus far. Once 12 races have been scored the sailors will be able to drop two. Szabo and Strube gained two spots, moving up from sixth to fourth overall on 19 points.

Paul Cayard (Kentfield, Calif.) and Phil Trinter (Lorain, Ohio) added a third from today to their scoreline, and dropping a sixth from day one. They remain in the leaders spot in the overall scoring on eight points.

Eric Doyle (San Diego, Calif.) with crew Brian Sharp (Norwalk, Conn./Franklin, Mass.) also keep their place in the overall scoring second after placing fifth today. They have 15 points thus far for the series.

Vince Brun and Mike Dorgan (both San Diego, Calif.) finished fourth, and with the benefit of dropping their OCS from the first race of the series, now stand third overall on 16 points

Andrew Macdonald (Miami, Fla.) and Austin Sperry (Miami, Fla.) round out the top-five in overall scoring after finishing sixth today. They carry 22 points.

AED's around Water

There have been recent calls for race organizers to provide AED's.

However, questions have been raised about the safety of AED's in wet conditions. According to the Red Cross: "AEDs can be used in a variety of environments including rain, snow and ice. Always use common sense when using an AED and follow the manufacturer's recommendations. Generally, the victim should not be in a puddle of water, nor should the rescuer be kneeling in a puddle of water when operating the AED. If it is raining, steps should be taken to ensure that the victim is as dry as possible and sheltered from the rain. Ensure the victim's chest is wiped dry. Minimize delaying defibrillation though when taking steps to provide for a dry environment. The electrical current of an AED is very directional between the electrode pads. Manufacturers state that AEDs are very safe when all precautions and manufacturer's operating instructions are followed. "

So, if AED's are provided they are safe on the water as long as some minor precautions are taken.

CPR News

Red Cross Responds to USA Today Article that Promotes Continuous CPR
A recent USA Today article
raising questions about whether current CPR procedures taught by the American Red Cross and others are the most effective way to respond to a victim who is in cardiac arrest. The Red Cross' response is as follows:

"The content of the USA Today article refers to the process of emergency
medical dispatchers giving untrained bystanders instructions over the
telephone, to help provide care until EMS professionals arrive. This move to
have emergency medical dispatchers provide callers who are not trained in
CPR, with directions to provide only chest compressions, does not constitute
a change in the training provided by the American Red Cross. According to
Dr. Donald Gordon, M.D., PhD., Chair of the American Red Cross Advisory
Council on First Aid and Safety (ACFAS), instructing the untrained bystander
to provide continuous compressions CPR is better than having them provide no
care.

The above guidance reinforces the most important actions a person can take
in an emergency, which are recognizing that an emergency exists, calling
9-1-1 or the local emergency number, and providing care.

The current standard for American Red Cross CPR training is based on the Guidelines 2000 for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care. These guidelines represent an international consensus regarding the care for persons in need of emergency cardiovascular care.

Note: Dr. Donald Gordon, M.D., Ph.D. Chair of the American Red Cross
National Advisory Council on First Aid and Safety participated in the
meeting of the 21 major urban area medical directors where the actions
referenced in the February 24, 2004 USA Today article entitled, "Simpler
Method for CPR Coming" were discussed.

This is Spring

While Saturday was the spring equinox, aka the first day of spring, snow currently swirls outside my office window.

That it's snowing shouldn't be surprising. Weather over the weekend ranged from comfortable, sunny, spring like condtions with a high of 55 degrees on Saturday to waking up to snow on the ground and a low of 21° on Sunday.

Hopefully we're headed towards 55 degrees and not winter reruns of 21 degrees.

Day	High	Low
Friday	46	32
Saturday	55	32
Sunday	32	21

Geronimo Slows

Since yesterday morning, Geronimo has been trying to escape from the low pressure area that has propelled her very fast all the way from Africa and catch up with the next depression, centred over New Zealand. It's rather as if the 11 Frenchmen on board were trying to jump onto the roof of the next railway carriage, since they are travelling faster than the weather systems. The rate of progress of these depressions over the Southern Ocean seems to be slowing down, so the trimaran has to jump from one system to the next in order to maintain speed. But between depressions, there's often very little wind. What's more, the high pressure systems in the region are unusually far south and stationary.

The weather specialists of the Cap Gemini and Schneider Electric team see two possible solutions that could prevent the trimaran from losing too much ground. The first is a longer northerly option, whilst the second southerly option carries the usual risk of floating ice and is therefore not very inviting. As she waited, the trimaran covered 349 nautical miles point-to-point yesterday; 10% more than Orange managed on her Day 25, thus increasing Geronimo's lead to over 1300 nautical miles. The best-ever Ushant to Cape Leeuwin time set on a Jules Verne Trophy attempt was that recorded last year by Geronimo. Its stands at 26 days, 4 hours and it looks as if the same trimaran will get very close to it again this year. At 23:18 last night, the Breton crew were still 65 nautical miles ahead of their previous time, but everything has slowed down since then...

The Transat News

THE TRANSAT: LAUNCHES AND QUALIFICATIONS... 19/03/2004 16:21:00

Marc Thiercelin
Image © Marmara / Bouchon Photography

Gitana XI being lifted in to the water
Image © Marmara / Bouchon Photography

Eric Tabarly
Image © Marmara / Bouchon Photography
'One man, one boat, the sea...The Transat...established in 1960 as the OSTAR'

IN BRIEF:

* Marc Thiercelin on his Open 60 Pro-Form has completed his qualification for The Transat...

* ORMA 60 multihull the new Gitana XI touches the water for the first time this week following the return to the water of 2003 ORMA World Championship winning boat Groupama...both multis are entered in The Transat...

* A look at 1964 the second edition of the race that saw the birth of a legend, Frenchman, Eric Tabarly...

IN DETAIL:

In France winter refit work is drawing to a close for the 60ft trimaran teams with their first grand prix of the season looming on 29 April-2 May in La Trinite-sur-Mer, Brittany. Around this time the boats will also have to complete a 1,000 mile qualification passage for The Transat.

Twelve of the ORMA 60 multihulls are entered in The Transat and aside from their preparations to get ready and testing any new technology added over the winter, the boats are also gearing up to go single-handed offshore racing again. The Transat in June will be their first single-handed race since the Route du Rhum in November 2002. No one wants a repeat of the devastation seen in that race when hurricane-force winds caused all but three of the 18 ORMA 60 starters to retire.

In the Route du Rhum competitors usually encounter some bad weather due to the start being in northern Europe in the depth of winter, but otherwise the rest of the race is on a more pleasant trade wind route. In contrast, The Transat has such a fierce reputation as its course is upwind against the prevailing winds and takes the boats much further north. It is colder, there is the possibility of encountering icebergs drifting south on the Labrador Current and the probability is high that somewhere between the start and finish they will have to tackle gale force headwinds. To ensure that the competitors are adequately prepared to take on this challenge all must complete a qualifier.

Those who have qualified to date are American Kip Stone on his 50' monohull Artforms and Frenchman Marc Thiercelin on his Open 60 Pro-Form.

Launched this week has been the new Gitana XI. As of this year, Gitana will be the only two boat team. Two boat teams are a feature of America's Cup and Volvo Ocean Race elite level sailing allowing for fast lane development of gear and, in particular, sails and in acquiring their second boat the Gitana team are taking the ORMA class to a new level. The Gitana Racing Team acquired the successful van Peteghem Prevost design Belgacom previously skippered by Jean-Luc Nelias last December. Since then the boat has been refitted and repainted in the Gitana team colours and on Tuesday this week was formally renamed Gitana XI. The boat is to be skippered by Lionel Lemonchois in The Transat, while former Biscuits la Trinitaine skipper Marc Guillemot will take over the helm of Gitana X.

2003 ORMA 60 World Champion, Franck Cammas, returned his winning multihull back to the water last week in Lorient. Although Cammas had a new multihull constructed over the winter, the team will be using the existing Groupama to race in The Transat and the following solo Quebec-St Malo race.

SECOND EDITION : 1964

The second OSTAR in 1964 was the launch pad for the most influential figures in the history of single-handed sailing, the development of sailing as a sport in France and in offshore race boat design. In 1960 Francis Chichester had managed the crossing in 40 days, 32 year-old French naval lieutenant Eric Tabarly won the 1964 race taking just 27 days aboard his 44ft ketch Pen Duick II.

Publicity from the first OSTAR turned the second race into a media circus with a number of competitors signed up by national newspapers. Tabarly, the only Frenchman in the race, was the sailor's favourite for the race with the advantage of sailing the largest boat and only one purpose-built for the event. He had also carried out an in depth study of the weather and physically was very fit. Arriving in Newport, Rhode Island he had no prior knowledge of his win - he had not used his radio during the race - and almost as a passing comment let slip that his self-steering system had only worked for the first 8 days of the 27 days it took him to complete the course.

At a depressed time in France, Tabarly became an overnight hero and for his endeavour was presented with his country's highest honour, the Legion d'Honneur by President de Gaulle. Tabarly went on to inspire several generations of French sailors many of whom sailed with him, among them Philippe Poupon, winner of the 1988 race and his reach extends to contempary sailors in the current fleet for The Transat, such as Michel Desjoyeaux, Roland Jourdain and Jean le Cam, all of whom sailed round the world with him. France's present dominance in single-handed offshore racing probably would not exist where it not for this great man, who returned to win the OSTAR again in 1976.

Linky Sailing News

Racing Star Trials Day 1, Day 2. Cheyenne's job list. Geronimo nears Cape Leeuwin. SD Noods. Eurolymp

News NZL Olympian passes. Team NZL $ issues . Jobson stays the course.

Great Lakes Shipping to begin. Sand Dune Day. Drowning hoax.

College Sailing St. Mary's wins Trux Umsted

Geronimo Day 25

Geronimo ended Day 25 with 448 nautical miles still to run to the longitude of Cape Leeuwin (115°08E) at 50°S.

In 2002, at the end of their 25th day at sea, Bruno Peyron and his crew on board the catamaran Orange, were 1826 nautical miles from the same point.

A simple calculation using the southwesterly tip of Australia as the reference point shows that Geronimo is now 1378 sea miles ahead of the record-holding catamaran, compared with 1345 the previous day.

Geronimo Day 24

It's possible that the Cap Gemini and Schneider Electric trimaran could improve on her own record time of 2003 for the passage to Cape Leeuwin. The current record of 26 days, 4 hours 53 minutes was set during last year's attempt on the Jules Verne Trophy.

At the end of her 24th day at sea, Geronimo was 798 nautical miles from the longitude of this cape, which marks the south-western tip of Australia. But she must now get through a day of transition marked by a significant drop in wind speed (10/15 knots) and therefore boat speed. The crew's aim is to keep ahead of the depression they have just overtaken in order to limit such slowdowns to the absolute minimum.

In 2003, Olivier de Kersauson and his 10-man crew rounded Cape Leeuwin 3 days and 2 hours ahead of the time set by the current record holder after an express passage south through the Atlantic.

Geronimo Day 23

Having covered over 10,000 nautical miles and one third of the course, Geronimo is now three days ahead of the record set by the maxi-catamaran Orange. Day 23 ended last night as the trimaran’s 8th day of covering over 500 miles - 538 to be precise, at an average sped of 22.43 knots point-to-point.
Her lead over the current record at the longitude of Cape Leeuwin is now over 1200 sea miles. So it seems as if the Cap Gemini and Schneider Electric trimaran can gain ground every day, whatever the conditions.

At the end of her 23rd day, Geronimo was at the same longitude (81°E) as Bruno Peyron on Day 26 of his 2002 record-breaking attempt, but the trimaran is rather further south and therefore theoretically on a faster track.
However, the crew didn’t want to talk too much about their lead yesterday evening: “It’s obviously better to be ahead of the record than behind it, but it’s arriving ahead of the record in Brest that really matters...”

Conditions were still good early today, with the Cap Gemini and Schneider Electric trimaran still making over 20 knots.

Cheyenne Day 44

Monday 22 March 2004 - 0510 GMT - 559 miles due East of Montevideo, Uruguay: A fine 24 hour run of 526 miles on Day 44 of their Round The World Sailing record attempt has raised spirits after several slow days of tactical negotiation of a High pressure ridge - and has kept Steve Fossett and crew aboard the 125' maxi-catamaran Cheyenne 778 miles ahead of the 2002 RTW track of Orange I.

Now some 5500 nm minimum distance back to the official WSSRC (World Sailing Speed Record Council) RTW start-finish line at Ouessant in France, Fossett and crew expect a second good day of southerly breeze Monday from this front as they continue their tour (from a rather long distance offshore so far) up the East coast of South America, but will then need to find their way through developing weather off the Brazilian coast.

Damian Foxall describes yesterday's run and the systems ahead:
"Back into the big miles, the whole day sailing ahead of the cold front on course at 23 kts +, straight down the shortest possible course. In 2002 Orange sailed a more classic wide course round and through the South Atlantic High, ultimately adding hundreds of miles to their route. We will be taking a more direct route.

Past Argentina, Uruguay to Port, we are heading for a low that has formed off Rio and hope to slide up the inside, great to be downwind in this section but the low is dragging us further West than we would like which, while it is the direct and shortest route, could very easily leave us hanging out to dry once we pass close to the Brasilian coast. Anyway, in changing forecasts we sail opportunistically - and take the fast route North. Brasil here we come."

Cheyenne Day 42

Sunday 21 March 2004 - 0510 GMT - 661 nm E/SE of Bahia Blanca, Argentina: After a very slow first half of Saturday (with only 62 miles logged in 12 hours) tackling a ridge of High pressure, Steve Fossett and Cheyenne began to benefit from that work and patience Saturday night as the cold front caught up to them as planned, bringing more reliable NW and W winds. By 0510 this morning that wind had reached 19 kts and they were back making 22 kts on the water, heading N/NW.

Their final 24 hour mileage for Day 43 was 214 nm, leaving Cheyenne 755 miles ahead of the 2002 Round the World Sailing record pace of Orange I. Minimum distance to the finish at the official WSSRC (World Sailing Speed Record Council) start-finish line at the French island of Ouessant is now just over 6000 miles.

214 nm past 24 hrs avg 8.92 kts

755 nm ahead Orange 2002

Cheyene Day 42: Reapirs

As Steve Fossett and Navigator Adrienne Cahalan plotted a careful and tactical course through a major ridge of High pressure blocking their progress North, Cheyenne's crew once again restored the 5,350 sq ft mainsail to its full hoist with a 10 hour running repair to the top of the mast track (damaged last week in the run up to Cape Horn), completed by lamplight.

Logging 288 miles over the past 24 hours, Cheyenne's present position keeps Fossett and crew over 2 days ahead of the 2002 RTW record position of Bruno Peyron's Orange I - but the main objective over the coming days is to maintain progress in the face of the challenge of variable winds.

Steve Fossett describes Friday's efforts and the tactical task ahead:
"The mast is fixed. The high wire act at the top of the mast at 148 feet was performed by four different mast climbers during the day and was completed by the light of headlamps last night. Justin Slattery, Damian Foxall, Guillermo Altadill and Dave Scully spent a total of nearly 10 man hours up the mast. The mast track is repaired, we have hoisted full sail, and with a lot of luck and care we should be good to sail to the finish.

We are now in one of the most tactical periods of sailing. We must cross an expansive High Pressure ridge which has loomed on our forecasts like a wall of no wind. We are picking a way through and have not become becalmed so far. The glory of 500 mile days is far from our minds as we just want to keep the boat moving in the direction of North. If we make contact with the better wind pattern within a day, we will have eliminated one more risk that could put us behind the record pace. - Steve"

US Star Trials Day 1

After a brief delay this morning, Star sailors got in two exciting races on Biscayne Bay for the opening day of the 2004 US Olympic Team Trials-Sailing. Anticipating they would encounter a variety of conditions over the next nine days, the 22 teams had measured in a total of 142 sails +IBM- most likely good insurance based on today+IBk-s activity. A forecast of 20 knots +IBM- with gusts to 25 +IBM- that had local news stations issuing a small craft advisory, and reports from race committee personnel clocking the wind at 18-22, led to a decision to postpone ashore. After about an hour, the postponement flag was lowered and the sailors, support craft, spectators and race committee headed out to the course, approximately four miles south of the Coral Reef Yacht Club channel.

The decision to postpone frustrated some of the sailors anxious to get racing. +IBw-There was no point in having a majority of the fleet sail their two drops today,+IB0- said Jonathan Harley (Middletown, R.I.), US SAILING+IBk-s Olympic Director. And although wind readings were not recorded over 19 knots once racing started, three teams had the misfortune to break their masts. In the first race three boats were over the starting line early, while the start of the second race was +IBw-picture perfect+IB0- with boats spread out evenly along the line.

San Diego's Eric Doyle with crew Brian Sharp won both of the day+IBk-s races to take the series lead with two points. Howie Shiebler (San Francisco, Calif.) and Will Stout (Houston, Texas/San Diego, Calif.) went 3-3 to take second overall in the standings with six points. Olympic medalists Mark Reynolds (San Diego, Calif.) and Steve Erickson (Seattle, Wash./Hood River, Ore.) finished 5-2 for third overall at seven points, followed one point back by Paul Cayard (Kentfield, Calif.) and Phil Trinter (Lorain, Ohio) who placed 2-6.

The planned 16-race continues until Sunday, March 28, with a mandatory layday on Wednesday, March 24. The format for the U.S. Trials, with two races scheduled each day, is designed to replicate the Olympic Games as closely as possible. At the conclusion of racing, the winners will be named to the 2004 Olympic Team that will represent the U.S.A. in Athens, Greece, next August at the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad.

US Star Trials Day 2

With a forecast for wind at half the strength it was yesterday on Biscayne Bay, the 22 teams of Star sailors competing in the 2004 US Olympic Team Trials-Sailing got in two solid races on a Sunday afternoon that couldn+IBk-t have been more perfect. Winds on the course ranged from 9-11 knots during the two races that were held in the same vicinity of the Bay as yesterday +IBM- four miles south of the Coral Reef Yacht Club Channel.

Paul Cayard (Kentfield, Calif.) and Phil Trinter (Lorain, Ohio) finished 1-2 today to leapfrog from fourth overall (yesterday) into the leader+IBk-s spot in the overall scoring. They now hold first place on 11 points.

Eric Doyle (San Diego, Calif.) with crew Brian Sharp (Norwalk, Conn./Franklin, Mass.) were over early at the first start of the day and found themselves racing to catch-up after re-starting. They ultimately finished ninth in that race, and followed with an eighth-place finish in the second race. That performance dropped them out of the lead position in the overall scoring to second overall with 19 points.

John MacCausland (Cherry Hill, N.J.) and Brad Nichol (Sunapee, N.H.) moved up to third overall on finishes of 3-6 to net 23 points. Following them, one point back, are Olympic medalists Mark Reynolds (San Diego, Calif.) and Steve Erickson (Seattle, Wash./Hood River, Ore.) who placed 10-7, dropping one spot in the overall standings to fourth.

Making up for the OCS they earned yesterday, Vince Brun and Mike Dorgan (both San Diego, Calif.) finished 2-1 today for a net 35 points. They are tied on points with Howie Shiebler (San Francisco, Calif.) and Will Stout (Houston, Texas/San Diego, Calif.) who finished sixth in the first race, but were then OCS (On The Course Side) in the second race. They paid for that second race, dropping from second to eighth overall.

Geronimo Heads to the 50's

After a day spent further North than she would have liked as a result of westerly winds, and having covered a very reasonable 461 nautical miles including one gybe, Geronimo is now galloping fast towards Australia. As forecast, the wind has swung around to the northwest and the Cap Gemini and Schneider Electric trimaran is surfing back on a heading of over 100° towards the Howling Fifties. With so many options available, it wasn't a simple passage.

"The sea's good, it's getting a bit bigger, but we're surfing well" said the skipper, who was also singing the praises of the work done by his weather router Pierre Lasnier and the valuable contribution made by Alain Lamal and the team of observers on the Kerguelen Islands. "Alain has been working on the Kerguelens for nearly 30 years and we meet when he comes to the Institut Polaire in Brest. These guys have a special feel for their region of the world -a very realistic analysis and an important one for us". The crew is now well beyond the Kerguelen Islands and all they evoke for our Breton mariners, including "Aventure aux Kerguelen" by Raymond Rallier du Baty; the story of a tuna fisherman from Concarneau who went to Desolation Island to catch seals and sell the oil in Australia. "The island is quite beautiful - hostile, of course, but beautiful in this ocean where there is nothing of any note..."

Since the fog lifted, and with it the stress, the crew has been enjoying the chance to sail in full daylight and can finally appreciate the beauty around them: "We're honoured with all the colours that make this part of the world so irresistible. Skies so blue they're almost black, and golden clouds…". Which pretty well describes the world through which Geronimo has covered 270 nautical miles in the first half of this Friday.

Water Level Update

Below you'll find water level info that pertains to Lakes Michigan and Huron.

Reference Point- Measurements in Inches

Difference from Chart Datum -5
Difference from last month +3
Difference from last year +7
Difference from long term average for March -17
Difference from Record High -48
Difference from Record Low +13
Forecast for 12 April 2004 +4

Click for information on other lakes.

On this day....

From the Mariners Book of Days: March 19, 1857 Clipper Ship Lightning logged 430 miles in 24 hours in the South Atlantic.

On March 18th, in the Indian Ocean the trimarn Geronimo sailed 461.3 miles while in the South Atlantic the catamaran Cheyenne completed 418 miles.

Will both giants top 430 miles today?

On the 19th, Geronimo sailed 538 miles, while Cheyenne covered 338 miles.

Macarthur at Cape Horn this Weekend

IN DETAIL:
The 75-foot B&Q trimaran has sailed approximately 3460 miles of the first part of her delivery trip from Auckland (NZ). Ellen MacArthur and her crew, Loik Gallon and Mark Thomas, are expecting to round Cape Horn on Sunday and arrive at the Falkland Islands on Monday. At 1200 GMT B&Q was positioned at 54 20 S, 95 46 W - following in the track of Steve Fossett and his crew on board 'Cheyenne' who rounded Cape Horn on Wednesday evening, setting a new record of 39 days, 16 hours, 16 minutes from the start line off Ushant (NW France) to Cape Horn, in their attempt to set a new fully-crewed, non-stop round the world record.

Technical Director, Neil Graham, will be meeting the boat on their arrival at the Falkland Islands, to help get the boat ready for Ellen's solo departure as soon as possible. B&Q will be staying at Mare Harbour south of Port Stanley on the eastern island. MacArthur will embark on the second part of the delivery trip on her own and this will be her maiden solo voyage on board the new B&Q trimaran.

FROM ELLEN ON BOARD B&Q:

"So far so good and it has been just fantastic being back out in the Southern Ocean again. We have had our problems on board but, thankfully, nothing major. We are getting on well and learning to trust each other... B&Q is going well in the conditions out here, we can average 18-19 knots no problem without really pushing - she has never come close to sticking her bows in. We have not had anything really big - we have seen 48 knots of wind and some pretty steep waves but no 50+ knot blows. The conditions can vary enormously - even in the last two hours the wind has been at 35 knots then dropping down to just 11, then up to 20 so it is quite hard work at times trimming the boat when the conditions change all the time. But with Loik and Mark on board we can cope with practically everything - it is going to be interesting when I set off on my own from the Falkland Islands. I know it will be much tougher when you have to do everything yourself but we will be able to get a better idea of how much I can push her on my own. It is also going to be good to get to see how she is in light conditions as we make our way up the south Atlantic once we leave here. All the questions we want answered about her performance in lighter, upwind conditions will, hopefully, be answered.

We should be rounding Cape Horn on Sunday and arrive at the Falklands on Monday. You always feel apprehensive approaching Cape Horn it is such a major landmark and we don't know what the weather will be like. We could be seeing a bit more of a blow in the next 24 hours..."

ellen x

Linky Sailing News

Racing Jules Verene: Cheynee Day 41, Geronimo Day 22. Olympic Garda

News Cayard v. Reynolds. NZL changes. Pyewacket info. Open 50 @ the Horn

Great Lakes Canada backs ferry. Match Race One. Electronic local notice to mariners.

College Sailing U of M Sailing

The Brenton Reef Challenge Cup donated by . James Gordon Bennett Jr will be awarded to the boat with the fastest elapsed-time trophy for the Performance Cruising Division in the Rolex Transatlantic Challenge 2005

Geronimo Day 22

The 23:17 GMT ritual has delivered its verdict on the route covered by Geronimo on Thursday 18 March, day 22 of this Jules Verne Trophy attempt.

Last night’s fix showed the Cap Gemini and Schneider Electric trimaran’s position to be 46°08S, 68°25E, which means she had covered 461.3 nautical miles point-to-point in 24 hours at an average speed of 19.22 knots.

Having made the decision to track north to skirt an area of sea too rough for effective surfing, Olivier de Kersauson and his crew maintained their 21-knot point-to-point average until 19:00 GMT yesterday. It then fell to 19.5 knots between 19:30 and the time of the daily position fix.

The wind, whose direction is too close to Geronimo’s ideal track, means that she has had to put in a series of wide tacks, which is fine in terms of boat speed, but costly in terms of the distance covered between two points.

In 2002, Bruno Peyron and his crew also suffered from this inflexible law, since on their 21st day at sea, they covered 396 nautical miles at an average speed of 16.52 knots to arrive at 40°40S, 47°06E.

Cheyenne Day 41

Cheyenne heading NE to battle High pressure ridge

418 miles run over past 24 hrs in variable winds

1109 miles (2-1/2 days) ahead of Orange's course
Friday 19 March 2004 0510 GMT - 112 NE of Port Stanley, Falkland Islands: After a 24 hr run of 418 nm (avg 17.41 kts) Cheyenne and crew passed the Falkland Islands last night and continued their drive North towards the equator Friday morning as Day 41 of their Round The World record attempt drew to a close. Ahead lies a large (on a NW-SE line) ridge of High pressure they must traverse starting later today.

Cheyenne's run NE from Cape Horn can best be described as 'variable' - a combination of high speed, flat calms immediately after the Cape, and finally steady NW wind at 19-22 kts overnight Thursday. Watch captain Brian Thompson describes Thursday's run:
"...Then blasting across to the Falklands today at high speed only to be becalmed again 25 miles in their lee. We are now working our way offshore of the islands and slowly finding the wind again, and about to resume our progress NE."
(see Brian's complete daily report below)

Steve Fossett and crew maintained their lead of approx 2-1/2 days over the 2002 RTW record course of Orange I, now measured at 1109 miles (calculated vs Orange's actual daily segments and Cheyenn'e current position).

America's Cup Hall of Fame Selection Committee

The Board of Trustees of the Herreshoff Marine Museum have announced the addition of four members to the Selection Committee for its America's Cup Hall of Fame.

The new members--William COLLIER (GBR), William H. DYER JONES (USA), Peter MONTGOMERY (NZL), and Bruno TROUBLÉ (FRA)--bring impressive credentials to the Selection Committee, which meets annually to choose the new inductees to the America's Cup Hall of Fame.

"Having such knowledgeable international voting representation is significant to the long-term health and viability of the America's Cup Hall of Fame," said Dev BARKER, Chairman of the Selection Committee, in acknowledging the committee's new members

William COLLIER (GBR) is a leading yachting historian and has written widely about designers and boatbuilders who have produced boats for the America's Cup. His books include Charles E. Nicholson and His Yachts, The Beken Album, and William Fife, Master of the Classic Yacht. Collier is senior partner in G. L. Watson & Company, the oldest yacht design firm in the world, which designed four challengers for the Cup. He has been instrumental in many significant yacht restoration projects.

William H. DYER JONES (USA) crewed on a 12 Metre in the 1967 America's Cup defender trials and went on to chair the New York Yacht Club Race Committee for the 1983 match (won by Australia II). Jones later served as Commodore of the New York Yacht Club as well as a member of the America's Cup Arbitration Committee for the 1992 and 1995 Matches. He served as Regatta Director of the Challenger Series for the Louis Vuitton Cup in Auckland, New Zealand, in both 1999-2000 and 2002-2003. He is Regatta Director for the 2007 America's Cup regatta in Valencia, Spain. Jones is co-author of The 12 Metre Class, the definitive history of the yachts that raced for the Cup from 1958 through 1987.

Peter MONTGOMERY (NZL) is one of the world's best known yachting journalists. For many years Montgomery has provided national and international radio, television, and print coverage of many grand prix sailing events, including the America's Cup.

Bruno TROUBLÉ (FRA) raced aboard the French entries in the 1977, '80 and '83 contender series for the America's Cup. In 1983 he created the Challenger Series for the Louis Vuitton Cup, which he has managed for many years with special attention to the media. Troublé and Louis Vuitton will play a prominent role in the 2007 America's Cup regatta in Valencia. As the skipper of the 1980 challenger France 3, he becomes the third member of the Selection Committee who commanded a boat in Cup competition, joining F. E. (Ted) Hood and Robert W. McCullough.

4 New America's Cup Hall of Famers

America’s Cup Hall of Fame
Butterworth, Fife, Haff and Whidden are 2004 Inductees

Bristol, Rhode Island (March 10, 2004) – Four legends of America’s Cup sailing – Tom Whidden (Essex, Conn.), Brad Butterworth (New Zealand), the USA’s Hank Haff and Scotland’s William Fife III (both deceased) – have been named as the 2004 inductees to the America’s Cup Hall of Fame. The inductees will be honored on the occasion of the Rolex America’s Cup Hall of Fame 12th Annual Induction Ceremony to be held Thursday, June 10, 2004. The black-tie affair, sponsored by longtime supporter Rolex Watch U.S.A., is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Rosecliff, the Newport (R.I.) mansion modeled after the Grand Trianon in France.

Presiding over the Induction Ceremony will be Halsey C. Herreshoff, President of the America’s Cup Hall of Fame. Tickets are available to the public by contacting the America’s Cup Hall of Fame at 401-465-7610 or e-mailing j.russell@herreshoff.org. Proceeds from the ceremony will benefit the America’s Cup Hall of Fame.

Bradley William Butterworth OBE (1959-) - In the Cup’s long history, no other afterguard member has won so many races in succession as Butterworth. As tactician aboard three winning boats (New Zealand’s Black Magic in 1995 and 2000, and Switzerland’s Alinghi in 2003), Butterworth set a new Cup record with 15 consecutive America’s Cup race victories.

Born in Te Awamutu, New Zealand, Butterworth performed with distinction in junior sailing before graduating to big boats. He was tactician for both Chris Dickson in New Zealand’s first America’s Cup challenge in 1986-87, and for Russell Coutts aboard New Zealand’s successful trial horse in 1992, into the Louis Vuitton finals. After that, they were always in the number one boats while also winning world championships in match racing. Butterworth, watch captain for Sir Peter Blake on Steinlager II when she won the 1989-90 Whitbread ‘Round The World Race, was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) after New Zealand won the Cup in 1995.

Butterworth is a Grand Master in the game of maritime chess that is the America’s Cup. “My job is to observe the other boats when racing,” said the always-understated Butterworth of his role as tactician. “I have to decide where we ought to be, in which direction we ought to go, given the wind and the adversary’s position.” Of course, there is a lot more to it than that, including having a sharp mind, a fierce competitive spirit, and intimate, trusting relationship with his helmsman. For all those reasons, and for his remarkable record, Brad Butterworth is elected to the America’s Cup Hall of Fame.

William Fife III (1857-1944) – The designer of two of Sir Thomas Lipton’s early Cup challengers, as well as hundreds of other beautiful, fast yachts, William Fife III (sometimes referred to as William Fife, Jr.) was born into his trade in his father’s and grandfather’s shipyard in Fairlie, Scotland. By the age of 30 he was designing and building noted racing boats for clients who included many Americans and Canadians. With G. L. Watson, Fife dominated the design of large sailing yachts in Britain in the 1890s before Watson turned his attention to the design of steam yachts.

When Sir Thomas Lipton decided to challenge for the America’s Cup in 1899, he chose Fife to draw the lines, though, because Shamrock was metal, another builder constructed her. Potentially fast, she was handicapped, first, by having to be heavily built in order to survive the Atlantic crossing and, second, by Fife’s illness at the time of the match. After Lipton came to him again for the 1903 challenger, Fife designed the largest, fastest, and most advanced racing boat then known, Shamrock III. It turned out, however, that Nathanael G. Herreshoff went a long stride farther in producing Reliance.

In 1907 it looked, briefly, as if Fife would get another chance at a Cup design, but Lipton’s negotiations with the New York Yacht Club faltered. When they were resumed in 1912, Charles E. Nicholson had become Britain’s most prominent yacht designer, and, with Fife’s help, he designed Lipton’s last two Shamrocks.

Although not America’s Cup winners, Fife’s Shamrocks and his many other boats, set a standard of excellence for the creation of able, fast boats of remarkable beauty. Long celebrated as one of the best yacht designers in history, his induction in the America’s Cup Hall of Fame places his name on the list of the best designers of Cup yachts.

Henry Coleman Haff (1837-1906) – Nobody in America’s Cup history has sailed in the afterguard of more successful Cup boats than Hank Haff, skipper or tactician of four winners between 1881 and 1895. As of 2004, only Nathanael G. Herreshoff, C. Oliver Iselin, and Dennis Conner have matched his remarkable record.

Haff learned to sail while fishing in catboats off Islip, Long Island. His talent as a racing sailor was soon recognized and he rose to the position of “advisor” (tactician) in the afterguard of two America’s Cup winners, Mischief in 1881 and Mayflower in 1886. In 1887, he was captain of Mayflower and beat back the dangerous challenger Thistle from Scotland. After serving as skipper of the unsuccessful 1893 defense candidate Colonia, in 1895 he won the Cup again as captain of Defender, crewed by professional fishermen whom he had recruited from Deer Isle, Maine.

The man whom Cup historian Herbert L. Stone called “that foxy old Hank Haff” had a long white beard and was 58 years of age in 1895, making him one of the oldest winning skippers in Cup history. He briefly came out of retirement in 1901 for his sixth America’s Cup season as captain of the defense candidate Independence. Two of his sons later sailed aboard Cup defenders.

One of the very best skippers in the generation before Charlie Barr, Hank Haff dominated big boats in a way matched by few captains, before or since, winning the Cup four times in 14 years. For that he is elected to the America’s Cup Hall of Fame.

Thomas A. Whidden (1947-) – Tom Whidden was the most successful America’s Cup tactician of the 1980’s, helping to win three of the contests (1980, 1987, and 1988). He has been active with the Cup ever since. “When I was 16 my dream was to become a sailmaker and race in the America's Cup,” said Whidden of his years as a junior sailor on Long Island Sound. He fulfilled both wishes: as a sailmaker he became President of North Sails, and, after he earned Dennis Conner’s respect by besting him in ocean races, Whidden was asked by Conner to help out with the ultimately successful Freedom campaign as trial-horse helmsman and sail trimmer.

As Conner’s tactician aboard Liberty in 1983, Whidden played a key role in the historic match in which the slower defender pushed the faster Australia II to the limit. In the decisive seventh race, after leading most of the way around the course, Liberty was caught on the second-to-last leg. “Our best Cup race ever may have been the one we lost,” said Whidden. In 1987 he helped Stars & Stripes regain the Cup in Perth, Australia, and a year later won his third Cup match in four tries -- aboard Stars & Stripes, the catamaran. Whidden again saw Cup action as a tactician in 1995, but lost to the dominant Kiwis. In two subsequent campaigns at Auckland, Stars & Stripes, with new helmsmen advised by Whidden, came up short in the challenger eliminations.

Of extreme significance is Whidden’s leadership in the design and manufacture of superb, modern sails at North Sails. Since Whidden became president, the art and science of sail making has been advanced so completely that every America’s Cup contender of 2003 used North Sails.

In America’s Cup history, very few sailors have been involved with as many campaigns (eight) or won as many (three) as Whidden. For his brilliance as a tactical advisor, his soundness as a crew organizer, and his mastery of winning in difficult boats under the most demanding conditions, Tom Whidden is elected to the America’s Cup Hall of Fame.

About the America's Cup Hall of Fame
The America's Cup Hall of Fame was created to honor the challengers, defenders, and legendary personages of the world's most distinguished sporting competition. The present prototype Hall of Fame was established in 1994 in an historic building on the grounds of the former Herreshoff Manufacturing Company in Bristol, Rhode Island, where yachts were constructed for eight consecutive America's Cup defenses between 1893 and 1934. The Herreshoff Marine Museum, situated on this historic site, operates the America's Cup Hall of Fame.
Commencing with its first induction ceremony in 1993, 59 legends of the Cup have been invested with membership. Candidates eligible for consideration include skippers, afterguard, crew, designers, builders, organizers, syndicate leaders, managers, supporters, chroniclers, race managers, and other individuals of merit. Each nominee is judged on the basis of outstanding ability, international recognition, character, performance, and contributions to the sport. The 22 members of the Hall of Fame Selection Committee bring a wealth of knowledge to the selection process. They are persons intimate with the America's Cup tradition of yacht racing and committed to the integrity of the Hall of Fame.
The Herreshoff Marine Museum and America's Cup Hall of Fame are dedicated to preserving, exhibiting, and interpreting the accomplishments of the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company and demonstrating the influence of America's Cup Competition, for the purpose of education, research, and the inspiration of excellence in the world of yachting. For more information, visit www.herreshoff.org, or contact the Museum at P.O. Box 450, One Burnside Street, Bristol, RI 02809-0450, Phone: 401-253-5000, Fax: 401-253-6222.

Selection Committee for the Hall of Fame
B. Devereux Barker, III, Chairman

Henry H. Anderson, Jr.
Bruno Bich
John S. Burnham
Dr. William Collier
Edward I. du Moulin
Halsey C. Herreshoff
Nathanael G Herreshoff, III
Frederick E. Hood
George F. Jewett, Jr.
William H. Dyer Jones
Bruce Kirby
Stanley Livingston, Jr.
Robert W. McCullough
Elizabeth E. Meyer
Peter Montgomery
David M. Philips
John Rousmaniere
Olin J. Stephens, II
Bruno Troublé
David B. Vietor
William G. Winterer

1993-2004 Hall of Fame Honor Roll

Charles Francis Adams
James L. Ashbury
Charles Barr
J. Burr Bartram
Robert N. Bavier, Jr.
John Bertrand
Baron Marcel Bich
Sir Peter Blake
Alan Bond
Dick Brown
Edward Burgess
W. Starling Burgess
Malin Burnham
Bradley W. Butterworth OBE
James E. Buttersworth
William F. Carstens
Dennis Conner
Russell Coutts
Briggs S. Cunningham
Sir Michael Fay
William P. Ficker
William Fife III
Henry Coleman Haff
Sir James Hardy
Nathanael G. Herreshoff
F.E. “Ted” Hood
Chandler Hovey
Sherman Hoyt
C. Oliver Iselin
Gary Jobson
Arthur Knapp, Jr.
William I. Koch
Sir Thomas J. Lipton
Harry “Buddy” Melges
Edward I. du Moulin
E.D. Morgan
Henry Sturgis Morgan
Emil “Bus” Mosbacher, Jr.
Frank J. Murdoch
Charles E. Nicholson
Sir Frank Packer
General Charles J. Paine
Victor A. Romagna
Morris Rosenfeld
Stanley Rosenfeld
Tom Schnackenberg
George L. Schuyler
Henry Sears
T.O.M. Sopwith
George Steers
John Cox Stevens
Olin J. Stephens, II
Roderick Stephens, Jr.
R.E. “Ted” Turner
Harold S.Vanderbilt
Gertrude Vanderbilt
George L. Watson
Thomas A. Whidden
The Earl of Wilton

Star Trials Begin Saturday

Coconut Grove, Fla. (March 18, 2004) +IBM- Under the experienced eye of Olympic Games and International Star Class measurer John Koopman (Marblehead, Mass.), the process of hull and rig measurement is well underway at the US Sailing Center in Coconut Grove for the twenty-two teams of Star sailors gathered here for the year+IBk-s most anticipated contest in the class+IBQ-the 2004 US Olympic Team Trials. Many of the competitors have been living and training in Florida for much of the winter, working out the bugs and trying new gear during several lead up events including the Rolex Miami OCR in January, and the Bacardi Cup which concluded only a few days ago. With tomorrow the final day of measurement, the atmosphere is anything but relaxed, in spite of the bright sunshine and warm breezes that would make the normal sailor jump for joy. The planned 16-race series begins Saturday, March 20, and will continue until Sunday, March 28, with a mandatory layday on Wednesday, March 24. The format for the U.S. Trials, with two races scheduled each day, is designed to replicate the Olympic Games as closely as possible. At the conclusion of racing, the winners will be named to the 2004 Olympic Team that will represent the U.S.A. in Athens, Greece, next August at the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad. A list of skipper and crew with hometowns follows. For bios and results (as they become available, starting March 20) visit: www.ussailing.org/olympics/OlympicTrials/2004/. Bill Allen (Highwood, Ill.) and Brad Lichter (Des Moines, Iowa) Karl Anderson (Harwich, Mass.) and Ezra Culver (Miami, Fla.) Fotis Boliakis (Ridgefield, Conn.) and Chris Rogers (Miami, Fla.) Steve Brown (Santa Ana, Calif.) and Michael Marzahl (Oxnard, Calif.) Vince Brun and Mike Dorgan (both San Diego, Calif.) Paul Cayard (Kentfield, Calif.) and Phil Trinter (Lorain, Ohio) Ben Cesare (Norwalk, Conn.) and Serge Leonidov (Jackson Heights, N.Y.) John Dane (Pass Christian, Miss.) and Henry Sprague (Long Beach, Calif.) Eric Doyle and Brian Sharp (both San Diego, Calif.) Stephen Gould (San Francisco, Calif.) and Christopher Gould (Atherton, Calif.) Jock Kohlhaus (Miami, Fla.) and Rick Burgess (Hewitt, N.J.) Andy Lovell (New Orleans, La.) and Magnus Liljedahl (Miami, Fla.) John MacCausland (Cherry Hill, N.J.) and J. Brad Nichol (Hanover, N.H.) Andrew Macdonald and Austin Sperry (both Miami, Fla.) Richard Merriman and William M. Bennett (both San Diego, Calif.) Mark Reynolds (San Diego, Calif.) and Steve Erickson (Seattle, Wash./Hood River, Ore.) Douglas Schofield (Sagamore Beach, Mass.) and Robert Schofield (Annapolis, Md.) Howie Shiebler (San Francisco, Calif.) and Will Stout (San Diego, Calif.) George Szabo (San Diego, Calif.) and Mark Strube (Miami, Fla.) Peter Vessella (Burlingame, Calif.) and Brian Fatih (Miami, Fla.) John Virtue (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Scott Pack (San Diego, Calif.) Henrik Wennerstrom (Miami, Fla.) and Jon Rogers (San Francisco, Calif.)

How Fast can Cheyenne Go?

The current Jules Verne record is 64 days 8 hours. Cheyenne rounded Cape Horn 2 days 10 hours ahead of this pace.

Steve Fossett and crew have thousands of miles, many weather systems, more possible breakages and other variables ahead. Fossett says, "We are filled with optimism that we can actually pull this off."

What, then, might be a best case scenario? While setting the 64 day mark Bruno Peyron's Orange recorded the fastest times from Cape Horn to the Equator and the Equator to home. Their total time was 534 hours or 22 days 6 hours. Add this to Cheyenne's Cape Horn mark of 39 days 16 hours and you get 61 days 22 hours.

To Cape Horn Cheyenne has been 6% faster than Orange. We can then take 6% off of Orange's 534 hours and get 502 hours. Add this figure to the Cape Horn # and you get 59 days 16 hours, indeed under the 60 day mark!

Of course those are best case #'s. Just last year Geronimo's unsuccessful attempt took 27 days from the Horn to Home. Such a trip would put Cheyenne at 66 days, outside of record territory.

Cheyenne's team has more mast repairs ahead, high pressure and the doldrums to negotiate and 24 days 15 hours to do it in. Note this 24 day figure is closer to the 22 of Orange's record than the 27 of Geronimo. Cheyenne will need to maximize pace to earn the record.

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Jules Verne Trophy- Around the World Non Stop
Crewed Any Type Record

Year	Skipper	Yacht	Nationality	Days	Hours	Minutes	Seconds	Speed in Knots	Type	Comment
1993-94	Bruno Peyron	Explorer	French	79	6	15	56	11.35	Catamaran
1994-95	Robin Knox Johnston-Peter Blake	Enza	NZL/GBR	74	22	17	22	12	Catamaran
1997	Oilivier De Kersauson	Sport Elec	French	71	14	22	8	12.66	Trimaran
2002	Bruno Peyron	Orange	French	64	8	37	24	14.08	Catamaran

Linky Sailing News

Racing Cape Horn record for Cheyenne. The Daily Numbers. Gerobnimo news. Olympic Garda

News NZL Olympic changes. Kevin Hall's training. Match Race Rankings. Bermuda race entries

Great Lakes Toronto Ferry troubles

College Sailing Brown tops Admiral Moore

Cheyenne and crew crossing Cape Horn 17 March 2004 Steve Fossett at the helm. Lined up in front of him, L-R: Damian Foxall, Mike Beasley, Fraser Brown, Mark Featherstone, Brian Thompson, Justin Slattery, Jacques Vincent, Dave Scully and Guillermo Altadill. Crouching in front are Adrienne Cahalan and Paul `Whirley` van Dyke. Of course I am not in the picture (Nick Leggatt)!

Jules Verne Fix It as you go

Today the American maxi cat Cheyenne will reach Cape Horn. Whether their voyage will end in a record isn't known. What is known is that the Cheyenne crew is one of the best teams of sea going DIYers ever. After fixing their forestay while at sea and underway they recently completed repair of their mast track while 100+ feet in the air. Full kudos to David Scully, Justin Slattery, Damian Foxall and Mike Beasley for this acrobatic technical feat. Here's a sampling of David Scully's repair report, "We had brought the battery drill, drill bits, "Easy outs" and vice grips, and, invoking a separate saint for every sheared bolt, succeeded in backing all 8 out of the rig before the drill bit broke. And that was the first step. " Thanks be to easy outs, vise grips and more.

Still and all this contest is all about speed. While Cheyenne made repairs she was slowed and got on the wrong side of a low pressure. Due to this she has had 3 days under 400 miles.

The sum of this is that Cheyenne will round Cape Horn about 2 days ahead of the current record. The cat has certainly used up some of the proverbial 9 lives and will need a full potential performance up the Atlantic to stay ahead.

The French trimaran Geronimo is on her 21st day at sea sailing the Indian Ocean. At the Cape of Good Hope, Geronimo was 1 hour ahead of Cheyenne's time. Recently, Ice, fog and speed for Geronimo .

Looking at both boats through 20 days, Cheyenne had better mileage on 11 days, Geronimo on 9. Overall Cheyenne had posted 35 more miles per day through 20 days. That's just 1.75 miles difference per day! Geronimo topped 600 miles for the first time on Day 15, while it was day 30 for Cheyenne.

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Data below shows daily mileage of Cheyenne and Geronimo, total miles they have sailed, their average day, and the difference between them on a given day.

What the #'s show is that despite catamaran. v. trimaran, 19 days difference in start time, french vs. americans, etc. it's a contest that is being measured in hours and minutes. Appears as though the high speed, high stakes chaos will continue.

Day	Playstation	Geronimo	CHY RT	Gert RT	Ger +/- Cheyenne
1	342.11	495
2	232.48	472.5
3	418.36	324
4	333.23	437
5	355.83	486
6	481.61	444
7	456.59	329
8	468.49	255
9	433.87	225
10	471.49	406
11	336	521.32
12	454.12	517.3
13	447.32	368.55
14	444.85	468
15	566.86	608.61
16	540.44	523.73
17	455.82	382
18	522.31	411
19	445.59	543	8397.37	8217.01	-180.36
20	564.18	520	8771.55	8737.01	34.54
21	574.09
22	422.32
23	488.55
24	406.36
25	584
26	577
27	507
28	506.21
29	526.68
30	623.54
31	559.1
32	478.5
33	485.13
34	508.65
35	484.9
36	437.67
37	346.03
38	264.65
39	277.99
Miles Sailed	17829.92	8737.01
Miles To Go	9170.08	18262.99
Avg Day	457.18	436.85
Days	59.06	61.81

VDH's Record is Official

The WSSR Council has ratified the following record:

RECORD: Round the World, non stop, singlehanded, westabout.

Yacht: Adrien

Sailed by: Jean-Luc Van Den Heede

Dates: 07/11/2003 to 09/03/2004.

Elapsed Time: 122 days 14 hours 3 minutes 49 seconds

Average speed: 7.43 kts.

Linky Sailing News

Racing Cheyenne slows, more repairs needed. Ice, fog and speed for Geronimo . Eurolymp

News AC HOF. Olympic Sailing Web.

Great Lakes Lake monitoring.

College Sailing Umsted upcoming, HWS defends

Flat Seas Required

Typically when looking at sailing conditions, wind speed and then wind direction are the primary considerations. For most mono hulls winds around 20 knots blowing from near the beam are going to give you maximum speed. Many times wave height/sea state is a secondary consideration. While flat water might be best, big waves are not too detrimental.

With the advent of the giant Race Class cats, sea state has become a primary consideration. Geronimo skipper Olivier de Kersauson says, "You go as fast as the weather allows. If there's a way of covering 580 for 600 miles, you cover 580 or 600 miles." In other words if there's plenty of wind plenty of speed will follow. These boats are really apparent wind machines so they achieve greater speeds with less wind than mono hulls.

Olivier de Kersauson also says, "Impact is very destructive. It slows the boat first, but the rigging is still moving fast. It's that kind of impact that can break your equipment. You have to be careful." While you may not break a race class cat by sailing too fast, you may damage one by hitting seas too hard. Composite materials can take the 30 knots of speed, but not the wave impact.

Recently ODK made this observation, "5 or 6 hours the sea will be rougher and we can't maintain this speed in seas that rough." From onboard Cheyenne watch captain Brian Thompson reported, "It has taken at least 18 hours for the sea state to moderate a little and this has been limiting our boat speed."

The first generation of Race Class multi hulls has made it clear that avoiding contact with the waves is paramount. For this reason
the newest cat Orange II has bows that are 3.3 meters off the water at the bow. Also the beams that connect the hulls actually sit on top of the hulls. It's been learned that more clearance is equivalent to more speed.

The need for smaller seas to gain maximum performance adds a new element to routing and navigation. Where as waves may once have been a small factor, they not maybe more important than wind speed.

Usually a forecast has wind direction and speed first, which is then followed by wave height. Sitting in the nav station of a giant multi hull you might be more concerned with the part of the forecast that says, "Seas 5 to 8 ft building
to 7 to 13 ft" than the Sw winds 15 to 25 kt increasing to 25 to 35 kt. You know how to deal with more wind- by shortening sail. However, these boats have not yet figured out how to handle seas without slowing. And when you absolutely, positively need a 600 mile day, it's flat seas you want.

2004 Spring Thaw & Ships Store Grand Opening

Gordon and Kathleen Torresen with State Representative Julie Dennis and City of Muskegon Mayor Steve Warmington.

Spring Thaw Shopper

Small boats on display in our new ship's store

The Grand Opening opens a new phase in Torresen Marine History

Ferry to Launch This Week

When will the Lake Express ferry launch? According to builder Austal USA, "The Lake Express ferry is to be launched at the end of this week as long as all goes according to schedule."

Earlier the launch date had been March 1st. Calls to mind the saying about boat builders, as in Noah was the only one on time and only because he had to be.

Star Trials Preview

The final selection regatta for the US Olympic Sailing team will be for Star Boats. Racing will begin Saturday.

The USA has a strong history in this 2 man keelboat having won medals in 4 of 5 Olympic regattas since 1984. More pertinent to these trials is that since 1988 Mark Reynolds has been the USA's star boat skipper winning a sliver in 1988, a gold in 1992, finishing 8th in 1996 and taking another gold in 2000.

This year Reynolds has teamed with veteran sailor Steve Erickson who was a Gold Medal Star crew in 1984. So, within this single team you have a mini history of 20 years of Olympic composition and success with 3 gold medals between them. The pair won the Miami Olympic Classes regatta and had some good races at the recent Bacardi Cup. With years of achievement both recent and past this team is the favorite.

Paul Cayard has become better known in other areas of sailing, but has returned to the Star Boat. He's been a World Champion but never an Olympian. He's been in the top 10 at the past two world championships and has trained with focus for this event. Looking back at World Championships where both Cayard and Reynolds competed Cayard has won 5 of 6. One would imagine Cayard's Olympic desire will never be higher than it is, which could be a difference maker.

American Star boat sailors are a talented group. In addition to the sailors above, there are 10 america teams in the top 50 of the Star boat rankings and 27 in the top 100.

The team of Szabo and Strube was 11th at the Bacardi Cup and has been in the top 20 at the worlds.

Top American team at the Bacardi Cup was Howie Sheibler and Will Stout. They were 4th at the Bacardi Cup and are ranked 38th in the world.

Also in the top 10 at the Bacardi Cup were John Maccausland and Brad Nichol. They won the regatta's final race and are ranked 39th.

All of these sailors are potential US Olympic representatives, however Reynold's unprecedented record or Cayard's larger variety of refocused talents are the most likely winners in my opinion.

Great Lakes Sailor Martin wins US Sailing Award

Portsmouth, R.I. (March 15, 2004) - US SAILING, national governing body of
the sport, has awarded its Nathanael G. Herreshoff Trophy to William C.
(Bill) Martin (Ann Arbor, MI) for his outstanding contribution to the sport
of sailing in the U.S. Martin is a past President of US SAILING (1988-1991)
and currently the Acting President of the United States Olympic Committee
(USOC) and Director of Athletics at the University of Michigan. The Trophy,
US SAILING’s most prestigious award, was presented by current US SAILING
President Janet Baxter and past President Dave Irish on March 13 at an
awards banquet at US SAILING’s annual spring meeting in Mobile, AL.

To a standing ovation, Martin accepted the award. “My roots are in sailing
and my experiences at US SAILING prepared me for the challenges I've faced
since then," said Martin.

“Bill Martin’s contributions to the sport of sailing in the U.S. are without
equal comparison in our sport,” said the US SAILING committee that nominated
Martin. An avid sailor for more than 40 years and a long-time US SAILING
volunteer, Martin has made tremendous contributions to sailing. He served on
various committees until becoming president of the organization in 1988.
President until 1991, Martin led US SAILING to new heights, changing the
organization’s name from the United States Yacht Racing Union to its current
name to accurately reflect the broader mission and full service approach to
U.S. sailors. He also played a pivotal role in the development of the United
States Sailing Foundation, serving as president from 1995 until 1998.

Gary Jobson, world class sailor and 1999 Herreshoff Trophy winner, wrote the
following upon hearing that Martin would receive the award: “All of us in
the sport of sailing are proud of Bill’s achievements and our sport is far
better today as a direct results of his tireless work.”

In 1995, Martin became a member of the USOC Board of Directors. He served on several committees until he was elected USOC Vice President-Secretariat in
December 2002. Two months later, in February 2003, Martin became USOC Acting President.

About the Nathanael G. Herreshoff Trophy
The Nathanael G. Herreshoff Trophy was donated to US SAILING in 1957 by the
National Marine Manufacturers Association and is awarded annually to an
individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the sport of sailing
in this country. The recipient is selected by US SAILING’s Board of
Directors from nominations made by members of the Board, Committee Chairs,
past Presidents and Counselors of Honor.

Mr. Herreshoff was one of the preeminent designers and builders of his time.
Born in Bristol, R.I., in 1848, "Captain Nat" was a mechanical genius with a
love for boats. He learned building techniques from the old craftsmen of
Bristol, studied mechanical engineering at M.I.T., and began an
unprecedented career that included many innovations in the design and
construction of military, commercial and pleasure craft, both steam-powered
and sail. Perhaps his greatest feat was designing and building yachts that
successfully defended the America’s Cup in six consecutive matches from 1893
through 1920, a span of 27 years. His success in the varied aspects of the
industry earned him the nickname, "The Wizard of Bristol."

Linky Sailing News

Racing After reapir Cheyenne slows while Geronimo follows but behind Cheyenne's pace. Lightning Southern Circuit

News NZL Oly decision. Nick Moloney interview

Great Lakes Ferry site update. Martin rewarded for contributions

College Sailing Rankings: #1's are Harvard and Brown

Water Level Update

Below you'll find water level info that pertains to Lakes Michigan and Huron.

Reference Point- Measurements in Inches

Difference from Chart Datum -4
Difference from last month +3
Difference from last year +7
Difference from long term average for March -17
Difference from Record High -48
Difference from Record Low +13
Forecast for 12 April 2004 +3

Click for information on other lakes.

Linky Sailing News

Racing Cheyenne again makes repairs. Geronimo reaches Cape of Good Hope ahead of pace. Cheyenee/Geronimo day by day. Portugeese win Bacardi Cup Cyard feels good about trials. Jablonski wins Marseilles Match Race. Record for VDH

News Martin wins award. Eurolimp 2004. Ellen delivers tri
Great Lakes New Ships Store Opens Torresen Marine expands Wait one on ferry tickets. Lake levels up.

College Sailing St. Mary's wins team race. Citadel wins at Eckerd.

Life was good at our annaul Spring Thaw

Clean Up Facts

Wednesday, Great Lakes lawmakers said the Great Lakes still lack the money and attention that have gone to other environmentally sensitive areas.

Here's some evidence that boosts this assertion:

San Francisco Bay Area 1600 square miles Funds $ 2 Billion or $ 1,250,00 per square mile

Great Lakes Area 94,250 square miles $ 45 million or under 1 cent per square mile.

Linky Sailing News

Racing Cheyenne well ahead of record. Geronimo: respectable equator time . Orange II details

News Star preview. Kevin Hall. Planet Schwab. How much water

Great Lakes Clean Up funds. This weekend Ghost Ships

College Sailing MCSA schedule

The Spirit of Ontario is seen in Perth, Australia, in 2004. The ferry, nicknamed the Breeze, will carry travelers across Lake Ontario between the United States and Canada. Daily, year-round voyages between Rochester to Toronto are set to launch April 30, 2004. Built in Perth, Australia, the 284-foot-long catamaran recently reached Hawaii on a round-the-world voyage to its new home port in Rochester, N.Y.

Water Level Update

Below you'll find water level info that pertains to Lakes Michigan and Huron.

Reference Point- Measurements in Inches

Difference from Chart Datum -6
Difference from last month +1
Difference from last year +6
Difference from long term average for March -19
Difference from Record High -49
Difference from Record Low +11
Forecast for 5 April 2004 +3

Click for information on other lakes.

Linky Sailing News

Racing Records for Cheyenne at Cape Leeuwin. Slows for Geronimo. Orange II heads home. Heineken Regatta.

News Steve Erickson.

Great Lakes Great Lakes day. Michigan water laws

College Sailing Hawaii defends South Florida women's title.

February Weather Report

The second month of 2003 in Muskegon was almost uniformly below normal. Temperature, precipitation, and snow were all below normal. The sole above normal indicator was average wind speed.

For the second straight month Muskegon had below normal temperatures, measuring -2.9 degrees at the end of the 28 day month. Month to date temperatures are 2° below normal. At the same time in 2002 they were 8 degrees above norms!

The high reading came on the 21st at 43°. A week earlier 4° was recorded on the 14th and 16th.

Only .16 inches of rain fell in February. This is 1.42 inches below normal and made February 2003 the driest February in Muskegon meteorological history. The 3rd with a meagre rain amount of .07 inches was the months top rain day.

14.5 inches of snow fell which was 3.8 inches below normal. The 11th was the snowiest day with 4 inches falling.

The winds were above normal for February at 11.4 knots, 1.4 knots above norm. The peak day for wind was the 4th with 18.9 knots measured as average. The months final day was calmest with only 2.6 knots measured as average.

Muskegon lived up to it's cloudy in the winter reputation. 15 days were called cloudy with another 6 partly cloudy. Still 1/4 of the days (7) were clear, perhaps a harbinger of sunglass sales to come.

The weather in Muskegon is certainly off to an unusual start. For the 1st time in the new millennium both January and February being below normal in temperature.

The past 3 months of March have shown a variety of weather. A temperature of 70° was recorded in March of 2000. Lows of 10° occurred in 2001 and 2002. This has already been exceeded as on March 3 2003 a low of -2 degrees occurred.

Snowfall has ranged from .2 inches up to 19.5 inches. Although March brings spring, there is almost certainly more winter to experience in March.

2004 Spring Thaw

This year's Spring Thaw will be an expanded three-day event to celebrate our new retail facility opening.

On Friday March 12 at 3:30 PM there will be a ribbon cutting facility to celebrate the opening of our new retail facility. The new facility is 1/4 mile east of our previous ships store in the same building as Bluffton Bay Sails.

From Friday through Saturday there will be discounts from 10% to 50% on everything in the store exculding engine parts.

Friday we'll be open from 9 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. On Friday all batteries will be 35% off.

Friday you will also be able to meet Tim Kent Around the World Sailor and now Harken Sales Manager.

Saturday our hours will be 9 A.M. to 4 P.M. On Saturday Yale cordage will be 50% off and Samson cordage will be 30% off.

Saturday is also the day to visit with manufacturers reps from Interlux, Harken, Vanguard and more.

Spring Thaw concludes on Sunday from 10 A.M. to 3 P.M. On the final day all Life is Good shirts will be 25% off.

Throughout the 3 day event you can receive a free paint pan and brush when you purchase 2 or more quarts of bottom paint. With each $ 100+ purchase receive a free Torresen Marine Hat.

Come see us, and our new facility and get a jump on the 2004 sailing season.

By doing business with locally owned Torresen Marine you keep your money in West Michigan. This supports the local economy, community and schools.

Safety Series: Gloves

Anytime you're looking at boating equipment it's a bonus if gear can perform more than one task.

One such small item is latex gloves. These can be used when performing first aid and also when working with epoxy.

Wearing gloves while using epoxy helps limit your exposure to it and can help prevent sensitization to epoxy. It will also help you keep clean while doing repairs.

Gloves are also highly recommended when administering first aid. There are many situations on board boats where cuts etc. can occur which produce blood. Wearing gloves is a way to help prevent any disease transmission that might occur.

A final tip re. gloves is how to store them. These days it seems like everybody takes prescription medicines. You can reuse these as glove storage containers. Just store the gloves in a pill bottle, put one in your tool bag, and one in your first aid kit and you're all set.

Note: Be advised that some folks are allergic to latex and may need gloves of an alternate material.

Jules Verne Report- Orange II out

The contest to set a new non stop around the world record is now between 2 boats. The high speed, high stakes chaos that is Jules Verne record attempts continues and spectators need to be paying attention or quickly lose the plot.

Steve Fosset's Cheyenne sailing closer to the Shackleton Ice Shelf than Cape Leeuwin will none the less pass the longitude of Leeuwin later today. Her time will be faster than either the current record, or the pace set by Geronimo on her ultimately unsuccessful attempt last year.

Geronimo is currently heading towards the equator. Although currently 496 miles ahead of Cheyenne's pace, the Doldrums are looking incredibly dicey. Geronimo plans to cross the line near St. Peter and St. Paul rocks. Geronimo should cross the equator within touch of previous passages. However, the farther south she goes the faster she will need to go to keep up with Cheyenne.

The third giant multi hull Orange has once again had to end an attempt. Peyron's team considered making at sea repairs to a damaged sail drive. Ultimately they have decided to head back to France, troubleshoot and perhaps start a 3rd attempt.

Cheyenne looks good especially considering her rather slow trip to the equator. However, Sport Elec gained the Jules Verne after trailing at Cape Leeuwin, while Geronimo was ahead of pace at Cape Leeuwin and didn't set a new mark.

Despite Cheyenne's good trip success is not yet ensured.

Linky Sailing News

Racing Cheyenne rolls on. Trouble for Orange II. Doldrum delimmas for Geronimo . A week more for VDH. Record for Alchemy

News Ocean Planet. SpeedyShips parrot to take shore leave.

Great Lakes Milwaukee waterfront. Boats & Movies. Lake Michigan leak. Tall ship makes progress. Lansing seminar.

College Sailing Stanford hosts/defends McIntyre team race.

College Sailing Report

Weekend Winners: Georgetown @ Bavier Invite, Charleston @ Old South .

Team of the Week: Charleston 1st @ Old South, 3rd at Bavier team race.

Sailors of the Week Freshman Russ O'Rielly of Charleston who won 5 of 9 races at Old South.

This weekend: Stanford hosts/defends McIntyre team race. Hawaii defends South Florida women's title.

Of Interest

I often send out emails under the Subject 'Of Interest'. Here's some items I've come across that are of interest to me and hopefully to you the rowing reporter reader.

Item Kevin Hall's training regiment for the Finn. Hall won the US Olympic Finn Trials. "He trained full time in Florida from October on, focusing mostly on downwind speed. His regimen was unique. When winds were steady and strong enough from the north or south, he would sail his ultralight, 14-foot dinghy offshore in the rambunctious Gulf Stream, going 30 miles downwind between Miami and Fort Lauderdale without a support boat. "

Comment: One of the images I have of modern racing training is boats sailing side by side upwind. While I'm sure it's worth while might not be much fun.

Hall's method seems a lot more fun, maybe even childlike. It's what you'd do if you didn't know any better. Back when I knew Kevin in the late 80's we trained by staying in harbor. I think he might be onto something!

---

Item More on Hall's training, "Dangerous? "Not really, mother-in-laws notwithstanding," said Hall. "I took my cell phone with me." He said he learned a lot about downwind speed by sailing for six hours in the ocean nonstop, with the breeze behind him."

Puts a new spin on the 3 hour cruise. I wonder if he answered his phone....'Hello- yeah I'm 10 miles out of Miami heading to Ft. Lauderdale...yeah it's blowing 20 and the waves are bodacious...can I call you back?'

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Item This is Cheyenne crew Fraser Brown on Souther Ocean fashion, "It's also been a hard call as to when to change to your southern ocean thermals and mid layers you don't won't to change to early because that's it until the Horn same clothes, our navigator has informed me that I have about the next 18 days in these clothes and they have already been on for 3 days. So now I have peeled to 2 sets of base layer thermals one mid layer 2 pairs of socks gloves 2 balaclava's and a neck scarf at night with another mid layer top ready to go if needed although all of that under your foulies plus a harness and boots it's getting hard to walk. Makes it bloody hard to open the chocolate bars.

Here's an ad idea. If you had only one set of clothes to wear for 18 days they would be....Musto thermals?

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Item From an interview with Star Sailor Steve Erickson: "The Finn guys are REAL GOOD downwind. In the "old days” we'd train hard upwind, to get that 1-3 boat length advantage that made all the difference. The other day, we were tuning upwind, and our tuning partner, started leaning into his boat, to fix something. Mark took that cue to reach in and hand me a power bar. I asked him for some Gatorade, which I drank while I continued hiking. Mark started laughing, "you know, in the old days, we ate lunch while we sailed downwind...now, we eat sailing upwind (don't want to miss precious downwind training time!)." The magnitude of potential gains downwind, can sometimes be measured in 100s of yards!"

Finn sailors such as Percy and Loof have been dominant in the Star class recently. One might think it's because they can outhike other sailors upwind. Apparently it maybe from the way they work the boat-dinghy like-downwind. Looks like the big gains in the Olympic classes are being made downwind. No beers served during these runs!

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Item “Fishermen need to have respect for the lakes, because they can kill you in so many ways,” says LTJG Ron Kooper, who is based at the Coast Guard’s Sault Sainte Marie detachment."

Starkly and well put.

Could be a killer?

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Item On passing the Cape Verde Islands Jean Luc Van Den Heede commented, "It had been quite some time since I’d seen houses, roads and cars. So you can see, I'm slowly readapting myself to getting back to civilization!"

That's one way to get away....sail around the world solo against the winds. Improbable, no? Not really, people pay to do the crewed version.

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Linky Sailing News

Racing Orange II needs underwater repair. Jules Verne Mileages: Cheyenne 406, Geronimo 486, Orange II 529

News AC $ via Ebay. Around the World History. Parlier video

Great Lakes Ontario ferry. Milwaukee light news. Danger

College Sailing Charleston wins Old South

Around the World 1sts

On March 2, 1949 Air Force pilots flying in the B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II complete the first nonstop round-the-world flight. The flight took 94 hours and 1 minute.

On 22 April 1969 Robin Knox Johnston on board the 32 foot Suhaili completed the first non stop round the world sailing voyage. The voyage took 313 days.

February 2004 Weather Report

February 2004 saw Muskegon's weather go from 0 to 55 in 29 days. The low temperature was a flat (round?) 0° on the 8th, while the high of 55 degrees was on the final leap year bonus day the 29th. At month's end temperatures measured 1.3 degrees above normal.

After just two months Muskegon has experienced temperatures a total of .6 degrees below normal. Coincidentally in 2003 Muskegon temperatures were + .6 for the entire year.

Both rain and snow fall were below normal in February. .57 inches of rain fell, which is 1.01 inches below normal. 8.5 inches of snow came down, 9.8 inches below normal. Rainiest day was the 23rd ("winter not over yet as their is a winter weather advistory. Snowing onto a melted, puddled environment) when .14 inches of rain were received. Snowiest day was the 2nd when two and a half inches of snow fell.

Average wind speed was 9.7 knots. The second month's windiest day was the 9th with an average velocity of 21.0 knots. The 25th was February's light air day at 2.1 knots.

Barometric pressure for the month ranged from 29.22 inches on the 20th to 30.63 inches on the 16th.

The sun appeared more than it has been during February. Only 11 days were cloudy, 9 were partly cloudy and 8 were clear letting the sun through.

February saw ice and ice boating. March will see open water and sailing

Running Rigging

Your boats running rigging is a necessity. Your running rigging is often under
load and spends hours in the sun and weather. A worthwhile commissioning task is to thoroughly inspect your running rigging and prevent problems.

Running rigging comes in many forms, from 3-strand nylon on older cruising boats to single braid spectra on high end racing boats. What they all have in common is that they can suffer a decline in performance from wear, abrasion, heat and other factors.

One way to check your running rigging is by inspecting it visually. Frayed strands, broken yarns, and pulled strands are items to look for. If a rope has been heavily used it will become compacted or hard which can indicate a lessening in strength. While a visual inspection of your running rigging can't precisely determine remaining strength, it can keep you apprised of the wear pattern of the item.

For rope such as 3 strand surface damage is a key indicator. If a line has a core under the cover is less susceptible to strength loss through surface damage.

When inspecting a rope here are signs to look for and their meaning. If the surface of a rope is extremely rough, strength is being lost. If the surface of the cover has been reduced by 50% or more for a distance of 4 or more rope
diameters you should consider replacement or using the rope in a lower load application. If you can see the core through the surface discard the rope.

If a rope shows pulled strands be aware that these can snag and cause problems during use. You should try to work these back into the rope to preserve the integrity.

A rope can be burned via friction when in use. If you see a melted or fused length longer than 4 rope diameters consider replacing the line.

If a rope has an eye splice in it, there are several areas to look at. If there is abrasion at the female end of the splice (side that comes from the main rope) you should consider resplicing or discarding the rope. To protect the rest of the splice thimbles should be used when possible.

One way to prevent damage to your running rigging is to assure a smooth run. Check the masthead, and blocks to ensure rough edges don't exist. A good dousing with fresh water can help blocks, sheaves and fair leads run freely.
Tape things like cotter pins and split rings to avoid damage such as pulled strands.

Inspect items that interface with your running rigging. Do your winches spin freely and feel smooth? If not consider having a winch service performed. Are cleats securely fastened to the deck? Do cam cleats work freely? If you have
rope stoppers, do they hold?

Be aware that like other items on your boat rope can be degraded by exposure to sunlight. Perhaps think about removing sheet lines between sails to get them out of the sun.

If you find that you need to replace cordage shop at Torresen Marine on Saturday March 13 only when all Samson line will be 30% off.

For your cruising boats genoa sheets pick up some Samon XLS. Racing sailors can look to Samsons compeition grade cordage when replacing halyards, spinnaker sheets and guys etc.

Starting Battery Sizing

Spring is a good time to make certain your engine has an appropriate staring battery both in size and in condition.

Starting batteries are special purpose batteries. They are made to provide a lot of power quickly. The figures are in the 100's of
amps for a period like 5 seconds. These batteries are not made to be deeply discharged as are house batteries.

A key # for starting batteries is cold cranking amps. This figure will show how many amps a battery can deliver for 30 seconds
at a temperature of 0 degrees F, until the voltage frops from 12 to 7.2 volts.

Requirements for starting batteries range from 70 amp hours/400 Cold Cranking amps for 1-3 cylinders to 120 amp hours and 660 cold cranking amps
for larger 3 and 4 cylinder engines. Since cranking an engine for 30 seconds is extremely abnormal, you really get more amps for a marine engine in good order.

If you need a new battery for your boat visit Torresen Marine's Spring Thaw Open house on Friday March 12th. That day only all batteries will be 35% off.

Applying VC 17 Bottom Pain

Each spring certain tasks need to be done to comission your boat. Painting the bottom is a common one. This article covers applying Interlux's VC 17 anti fouling paint.

VC 17 is always available at special prices online at shop.torresen.com

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APPLYING VC-17
Submitted by Pete Matthews - Former Great Lakes Interlux Representative

VC-17 is one of the easiest antifouling paints to apply, and
to maintain. But like any other antifouling system, there
are some things that have to be done both at the initial
application and as part of an annual maintenance program.

There are three basic application situations that will be
encountered. I'll take them one at a time.

First is the new application. This means applying VC-17 to
a new boat or a boat that has recently had a different
antifouling system on it that has been removed. Essentially
a clean fiberglass hull. If it's a new hull, it must be
dewaxed completely to remove any residual mold release wax.
This should be done with the Interlux 202 Solvent Wash. We
recommend using a two-rag system. One to put the solvent on
the hull, another to wipe it clean. Change both rags
frequently and remember not to dip the application rag back
into the solvent container, thereby contaminating it. When
you're done with the entire hull, take a hose or container
of water and wet down portions of the hull. If the water
beads up, there's still wax on the hull and the process
must be repeated. Failure to remove the wax can prevent the
paint adhering to the hull. Also please note, this must be
done before sanding the hull so as not to imbed the wax in
the gelcoat during the sanding process. When you are sure
you've removed all the wax from the hull, the next step is
to sand the entire surface to be painted with VC-17. This is
a must. You must abrade the hull to provide a profile for
the paint to stick to. Failure to do so can result in the
paint detaching from the hull. The hull should be sanded
with 180 grit sandpaper, 220 at the finest. After sanding
wipe the hull down with 202 Solvent Wash again to remove
sanding residue. Some boat manufacturers aren't in favor of
sanding hulls because they feel this may increase the
likelihood of osmotic blistering. I know of no evidence to
support this, but it is the manufacturers warranty. In this
case there has been some success reported using a coarse
Scotch Brite Pad to scrub the hull. This can be done with
the 202 Solvent wash. You must be sure to leave a visible
scratch in the gelcoat. I'd have to say that I feel this
would provide minimal adhesion at best and I can't recommend
the system even though I know it's done. After cleaning and
abrading the surface, you're ready to apply the paint. Pick
a day that isn't raining, and is above 50 degrees F. You'll
notice that under the hat on the VC-17 can there is a bag
of copper. This must be mixed into the paint. Please be
careful doing this as the copper is very fine and will fly
around. (Perhaps a good time for a paper sanding mask) This
is what provides the antifouling. You'll notice the can is
short filled to allow you to add the copper and stir it in
without spilling. This does NOT mean that the can should be
filled with a solvent. This is not the case. Only in rare
cases should any antifouling paint be thinned and in the
case of VC-17, almost never. The paint is best applied with
a roller or by spray, IF the yard you're in allows
spraying. Please check with the yard manager about this. If
you can and do choose to spray, contact your Interlux
representative for details. If you're going to roll, any
solvent resistant foam or short nap roller cover will work.
The recommended system is to start from the bottom of the
hull or keel, and roll upwards. Do not over roll or attempt
to "smooth" the paint out. It's self-leveling and will do
that itself. Just make one pass up to the waterline tape
then start over at the bottom. Keep the roller well filled
with paint, but not to the point that it runs off onto the
ground, or your arm. A word of caution, This paint dries
very quickly. Do not pour the entire can into the tray. It
will evaporate. Poor in just enough to fill the roller, then
add more to the tray when you need to refill the roller.
Work your way around the boat working back to the place you
started. During an initial application, ALWAYS apply two
coats. The second coat can be applied after the first coat
has dried, about a half an hour under most conditions.
Remove the tape and the boat can be launched about a
half-hour after painting.

Second application type - you already have VC-17 on the
boat. Reapplication is one of the joys of this product.
Assuming the boat was pressure washed and stored relatively
clean, all that is required is to wipe the hull down with a
damp rag to remove any dust or particles that may be on the
hull. Inspect the bottom to insure there are no abrasions
or flaking spots. If there are, these can and should be
touched up lightly with 180 grit on a sanding pad. Just
feather in the affected area, wipe to remove any dust and
repaint. There is no need to sand the entire hull, in fact,
it's not recommended. If you do, there is a danger of
sanding through, which would require applying two coats
again. Applying the paint is the same as above described
procedure and once again, the boat can be launched in about
one half-hour. That's all there is to it!

The third instance. Applying VC-17 over an epoxy barrier
coat. It is not true, by the way, that VC-17 can only be
applied over VC Tar. While it certainly can be, it goes on
over Interprotect Epoxy barrier coats just as well. In this
case apply the barrier coat according to the instructions.
After applying the last coat of tar or epoxy, follow the
instruction for applying the first coat of antifouling
without sanding (called "hot" or "wet on wet" coating) in
the case of VC Tar or Interprotect 2000E/2001E. In the case
of Interprotect 3000/3001, you must let the epoxy harden
and sand with 180 just as though it were a new hull. Please
be sure you're reading the correct times for applying
antifouling paints (not another coat of epoxy, they're
different). The second coat of VC-17 can be applied when
the first has dried, again, about a half an hour. Words of
caution here, If you have just applied a barrier coat,
please do not launch the boat in a half-hour. Please allow
the epoxy to cure for as long as possible before launching.
(A week perhaps.) This is especially important in the case
of VC Tar as this product takes a long time to cure and
lifting the boat too soon can cause the straps to distort
the tar at lifting points. Maintenance after this is just
the same as described above.

And that's all there is to it. While it doesn't achieve the
boating Nirvana we all look for, the bottom that never has
to be worked on, it does come about as close as chemistry
will allow us in this day and age.

VC 17 is always available at special prices online at shop.torresen.com

SORC Podium

Top 3 finishers by class at the Acura SORC,

Farr 40:
Peter De Ridder, Mean Machine, Monaco, 3-5-2-3-4-15-3-10-3-6, 54 Winner
Mark H. Baxter Trophy (Best Performance by a Farr 40) & Acura SORC Trophy (Best Performance by a Series Yacht) - Mean Machine
John Kilroy Jr. CA, Samba Pa Ti, Los Angeles, CA, 14-8-1-10-7-2-4-5-6-3, 60
Jim Richardson, Barking Mad, Boston, MA, 1-3-4-9-13-8-6-2-13-4, 63

IMS:
Daniel Meyers, Numbers, Boston, MA, 1-3-2-3-1-1-1-1-1-DNS, 14
Marco Birch, Talisman, New York, NY, 2-2-1-1-2-2-(4)-2-3-1, 16
George David, Idler, Hartford, CT, 4-1-3-2-(6)-3-2-3-2-2, 22

J/105:
Richard Bergmann, Zuni Bear, San Diego, CA, 3-3-1-1-3-5-(8), 16
Jim Doane, Flame, Naples, FL, 2-2-4-4-1-(8)-3, 16
Mark Cloutier, Addiction, Paget, Bermuda, 4-1-(6)-5-4-1-4, 19

PHRF 1:
Terrance Smith, Raincloud, Isle of Palms, SC, 1-NC-1-1-1-2-(3)-3-1-1, 11
Michael Brennan, Sjambok, Potomac, MD, 2-NC-(3)-3-3-3-2-1-3-2, 19
John Halbert, Vitesse Extreme, League City, TX, 4-NC-4-4-2-1-1-2-(5)-3, 21

PHRF 2:
Roger Elliott, Crosswave, Bryn Mawr, PA, 1-1-2-3-6-1-4-1-2-DNS, 21 Winner Florida Governor's Perpetual Trophy (PHRF class, low point boat)
Gordon Donald, Spinal Shock, Tinton Falls, NJ, 5-3-5-(7)-3-3-1-4-1-1, 26
Stuart Hebb, Thin Ice, Coral Gables, FL, 2-(6)-1-2-4-6-3-2-4-6, 30

PHRF 3:
Bob Berg, Love That Chicken, Miami, FL, 1-5-5-(6)-1-4-2-1-1-5, 25
Gordon Ettie, Sazerac, Miami, FL, 2-2-3-2-4-1-3-4-4-(6), 25
Lorenzo Biessani, Kaster, Trieste, Italy, 6-1-1-1-(7)-3-6-3-5-1, 27

Mark H. Baxter Trophy (Best Performance by a Farr 40) - Mean Machine Florida Governor's Perpetual Trophy (PHRF class, low point boat) - Crosswave Acura SORC Trophy (Best Performance by a Series Yacht) - Mean Machine

Linky Sailing News

Racing Cheyenne ahead of record . Geronimo & Orange sail together. SORC winners. Manzanillo Race

News St. Maarten regatta. NZL appeal. Hypothermia

Great Lakes Renew MC numbers online Dune pipeline OK'd.

College Sailing Georgetown wins Bavier invite