Around The World Of Sailing

Amundsen Trophy

Twenty-two days in, leading most of the race since the starting-gun was fired on February 5th in Doha, with the wind at 70 knots NW, the sea good, flying full main and clocking speeds of 29 knots, yesterday at 0210 hrs GMT, Doha 2006 spectacularly took the first record in the Oryx Quest 2005. All eyes were on the instruments as they crossed the Amundsen Gate at longitude 163� West when they went in to the history books as the first boat to be awarded the Amundsen Trophy for this record in this non-stop round-the-world yacht race, a staggering 1500 nautical miles (approximately) ahead of the US entry, Cheyenne.

The Amundsen Trophy is named after the legendary polar explorer Roald Amundsen, considered to be the greatest polar explorer of all time. The Amundsen Gate lies at 163� West longitude and lies on the same route taken by Amundsen on his legendary trip to conquer the South Pole in 1911.

Brian Thompson, skipper of Doha 2006, reported back to Oryx Quest Race HQ who were closely monitoring the boat�s progress, �We are delighted and proud to have just claimed our first trophy and our first record for the boat. The Amundsen Trophy stands for courage, fighting spirit and determination - it is a fantastic achievement for the boat and the crew. It was an extraordinary feeling to pass the Amundsen Gate. Really quite historic with Roald Amundsen base camp in mind.�

J�rgen Amundsen, Founder and President of Amundsen Oslo and relative of Roald Amundsen, called Brian Thompson, Doha 2006 skipper on their mobile satellite phone to congratulate him and the crew on their achievement. He added �I wish you all the best for the remainder of the race. I am greatly looking forward to welcoming you back in Doha and presenting you and your crew with the Amundsen Trophy�.

The Amundsen trophy, measuring 70cm in height, was created by British artist, John Mellows, and will be presented to Brian Thompson and the crew of Doha 2006 at the official prizegiving in May 2005.

Amundsen Oslo, the first and only Norwegian watch brand, was founded in 2002 by J�rgen Amundsen. They produce three categories of unique, high quality wristwatches: Polar, Yachting and Aviation Timepieces. Amundsen Oslo timepieces are dedicated to pioneers expecting and demanding high performance and reliability in all situations on their way reaching their goals and realizing their dreams.

The Oryx Quest 2005 is the first around-the-world race for Amundsen Oslo as an official timekeeper.

Doha 2006 continues to lead the fleet about 700 nautical miles ahead of the US entry, Cheyenne, at speeds of between 22 and 30 knots heading east towards Cape Horn.

Orange II needs Rudder Repair

Since its accidental encounter with an orca at the end of yesterday, the maxi-catamaran Orange II is continuing its course towards the NE while awaiting a sea and wind state that enable it to come to a standstill and make a general inspection of the boat. The main focus of Orange II's skipper is to send down a diver under the hull to inspect the damaged rudder. According to Yann Penfornis, the boat's architect : "the impact on the port rudder has provoked delamination across a 30cm area on the leading edge of the rudder. It is the outer carbon skin which is peeling away, so there is no major concern for the moment. The rudder is unlikely to split in two as it made from a single piece of carbon. However, the second carbon skin must not then begin to delaminate. As a result I am moderately optimistic".
Several solutions are open to Orange's crew: Work directly on the rudder and carry out the lamination of the zone of impact, underwater. Or remove the rudder, lift it onboard, repair it and then put it back in place. This second solution is not the one retained by Bruno Peyron in principle, as the skipper is seemingly more in favour of an underwater repair. Answer in two days...
For the time being, the giant Orange II is continuing to rack up the miles with an average of 25 knots whilst sailing on port tack, thus putting the stress on the starboard daggerboard and rudder. The damaged rudder is not under any stress at present as a result.

Extract from today's radio session with Bruno Peyron and Bernard Stamm :

The impact: "There's nothing we can do while the sea isn't calm. The zone of calms is forecast in two days. We really hope the rudder will hold until then. We have noticed that the top skin has come away and that the fences have disappeared too. We cannot see if the second layer of fibre is coming away or not. Everyone is keeping a permanent eye on it. We have some resin that sets in the water so we can make repairs underwater. If we decide to dismantle it, we know how to do that too but to get it back together again it would need to be very, very calm. In the open sea, it is never very flat. If we could avoid this man�uvre, it would be much better. We have virtually gone round the world on starboard tack and in two days we will need the port rudder. As a result we are focussing our attention on an underwater solution as soon as we can bring the boat to a stand still."

Eight and a half day lead over Fossett: "We will certainly go slower, though for the moment we are still going well as we are not using the damaged rudder. We have an eight and a half day lead over Cheyenne and that should increase further still after tomorrow. The boat is structurally intact. The crew is well even though we are tired. Though this problem may slow us up, it won't prevent us from getting to the end. It's going to take more than that to stop us! In 1993, we hit two whales with an exploded daggerboard in the same place, and that didn't stop us picking up the Jules Verne!"

The injured orca: "You'll have to tell the children that it must have a big bump on its head ! The rudder is half out of the water the whole time and you can clearly see the traces of it where it is deformed and the impact at the front."

Mentally: "We're all very well. The level of experience aboard is such that everyone has seen other moments like this. At the time you react without speaking, without losing time. The observation was unanimous and at the same time. The general feeling is that it was a good thing. In the iceberg zone, we managed to get through it intact, in the seaweed zone, we got through unscathed too. We've had sail damage and now in we've hit something. We consider ourselves lucky that it was an orca weighing a few tonnes and not a 30 tonne whale... You have to find the positive things in these situations!"

Fatigue: "We've all felt a bit tired since yesterday. We haven't stopped since the Horn. We've had 40 knots of wind and squalls of up to 50. There is an accumulation of physical and nervous fatigue...Looking back, we see that we've been flat out since the start. Normally we make long trip with transition zone. Here though, we've swallowed up the transition zones without losing any speed. It's a different level of fatigue to when we hit the Southern Ocean."

ETA at the equator: "In three days time, we will continue to use the lift from the depression which is the same as we have been using since Australia. We will continue to use it for two more days as it leads us under the horn of NW Brazil. After that, we enter a transition zone before picking up the classical trade winds again. We are lucky to be able to use this air flow and it will enable us to gain an extra day over Cheyenne over the coming days. The offspin of that is that we can give an ETA at the equator of 5 February at 2300 GMT."

Bernard Stamm: "The main worry was knowing whether we had broken material or not. When we can see it, we look to check if there is anything missing and if we can feel anything different when helming. It seems fine though. We've eased off the pace a little but that's due to the sea state. We are in an area with a lot of current and messy seas and it's impossible to go through it at high speed. There are a few of us aboard who know a fair bit about composites. Personally I was a little misfortunate during the Around Alone when I hit something that began to delaminate the hull. I think we're just going to need to put a new skin on top to stop it haemorrhaging with the resin which works in the water. We can easily do it, even in the open sea or in a place where there is less wind and we can bring the boat to a stand-still."

Data
Day at sea : 36th
Date : 28/02/2005
Time (GMT) : 1110
Latitude : 38 34.44' S
Longitude : 47 01.60' W
Instantaneous speed : 27.3 kts
Instantaneous heading: 16
Average speed : 27.4 kts
Speed over 24 hours : 22.6 kts
Distance over 24 hours : 543 nm
Speed since the start : 23.9 kts
Over distance : 20102 nm
Distance remaining : 5806.90 nm
Gaps on day 35 :
- J.Verne Record : +3975 nm (ahead)
- Outright record : +2854 nm (ahead)

The Montego Bay Baro

Lots of good sailors (Bob Johnson, Ted Turner, Steve Benjamin, Kevin Burnham etc.) have arrived at Montego Bay Yacht Club.

At the MBYC's generally open bar a barometer resides. As a weather instrument it's in the retired/no longer working category.

The built in thermometer still I don't think works. It's stuck near 80� so it's accurate often enough.

It's an aged and weathered piece. Salt air and salt water have done their worst. It's almost copper in color. A mounted chemistry experiment. Metal and salt combine to make it corrosive.

The glass is cracked from side to side, right thru the center. The two indicator arms are different colors. One is gold, the other blue.

The internal works are open. View them if you will. Chains and gears moved by air.

Mounted on a bar pillar it overlooks the patio dining area. Red Stripes are frequently ordered and de-capped right next to it.

Sailors leave while it stays. Stuck though it maybe it will glance at sailors still to come.

Linky Sailing News

Racing Shockwave takes pre worlds. Doha 2006 takes trophy named after Explorer

Records Cape Horn in 32 days, then wale mishap

News SA AC base

Great Lakes Warren Jones passes away. Logging

College Sailing Old South

Old South

Old South
University of Florida (at USF)
February 26-27, 2005

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 TOT

1
Charleston A 2 1 3 2 3 2 1 1 15
B 1 1 4 3 1 5 1 4 20
3 5 12 17 21 28 30 35 35

2
Eckerd A 1 4 7 3 1 1 2 2 21
B 2 2 2 1 7 7 2 2 25
3 9 18 22 30 38 42 46 46

3
South Alabama A 3 7 1 4 2 3 5 6 31
B 3 3 1 5 2 3 4 1 22
6 16 18 27 31 37 46 53 53

4
USF A 6 2 2 6 6 7 3 5 37
B 4 7 3 4 4 4 3 3 32
10 19 24 34 44 55 61 69 69

5
Florida A 7 6 6 5 5 4 6 10 49
B 7 5 5 6 5 1 5 5 39
14 25 36 47 57 62 73 88 88

6
Miami A 5 9 9 7 4 8 7 4 53
B 8 8 8 9 10 8 7 6 64
13 30 47 63 77 93 107 117 117

7
USF Women's A 4 3 5 1 7 5 4 3 32
B 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 104
17 33 41 55 75 93 110 126 126

8
Vanderbilt A 11 8 8 8 8 6 8 8 65
B 6 9 10 7 8 6 13 13 72
17 34 52 67 83 95 116 137 137

9
Miami of Ohio A 13 5 4 10 11 10 9 7 69
B 9 10 9 10 11 10 6 7 72
22 37 50 70 92 112 127 141 141

10
Rollins A 9 12 11 11 12 12 10 9 86
B 11 12 11 11 9 11 8 8 81
20 44 66 88 109 132 150 167 167

11
Clemson A 12 11 12 12 10 11 13 13 114
B 5 4 6 2 6 2 13 13 71
17 32 50 64 80 93 119 145 185*

12
Florida JV A 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 104
B 12 11 12 12 3 9 13 13 85
25 49 74 99 115 137 163 189 189

13
NC State A 10 10 10 9 9 9 13 13 103
B 10 6 7 8 12 12 13 13 101
20 36 53 70 91 112 138 164 204*

* 20 pts added per division for failure to sign RP forms

MAISA Team Race

Saturday:
39 Races sailed in 6-12 knot W winds shifting to NW. One round robin was completed with 11 races sailed in the second round robin.

Sunday:
7 Races sailed, including one resail from Saturday, in a 4-10 knot NE
breeze which died out completely by 11:30am. Races were postponed and ultimately cancelled for the day.

Four protest were heard using a three-minute justice format.

Since the second round robin was not completed final score represent
totals from the first round robin only. Races sailed in the second round robin between tied teams were used as tie breakers.

Final Scores:
1. Washington College 6-1
2. Maryland 5-2 (won tie breaker over Georgetown)
3. Georgetown 5-2
4. St. Mary's College 4-3
5. Hampton University 3-4
6. SUNY Maritime 2-5 (won tie breaker over Kings Point)
7. Kings Point 2-5
8. Old Dominion 1-6

Winning Team: Washington College
Colin Robertson / Nicole Luckett
Carl Horrocks / Alexandria Starks
Chad Hillyer / Vanessa Anderson
Parker Mitchell / Hanna Lee

Barking Mad Ready to Defend

With the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds due to begin at midday tomorrow in Sydney, there is a nervous tension in the air at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia. The results of the Pre-Worlds might have revealed something of the expected pattern of play, but picking a winner from this fleet remains next to impossible.

As reigning World Champion from the 2004 Rolex Farr 40 Worlds in San Francisco just six months ago, Jim Richardson and his Barking Mad crew are as good a bet as any. Richardson saw his fourth place last week as a good omen. "We came in fourth in the Sprint series a couple of weeks ago, and then we won the Australian Nationals. Now we've come fourth in the Pre-Worlds, so hopefully that means we'll win the Worlds."

Richardson has used the two intervening days to take it easy and to get his head away from sailing. "We're as prepared as we ought to be. I don't think it helps anyone by pushing it too hard. We're in a beautiful city, and it's important to have some fun while you're here."

Barking Mad wasn't quite firing on all cylinders last week, but the American feels pretty good about his prospects despite the demanding conditions out on the Pacific Ocean. "In San Francisco, everything went together for us perfectly. This is a different venue and a different style of sailing. In San Francisco we were able to start in the middle of the line. Here, I think the sides tend to pay more, and so we've been playing the edges a little more here. The Australian boats might have somewhat of an advantage because they've been sailing in this stuff all their lives."

By winning the Pre-Worlds, local sailor Neville Crichton has found himself thrust into the list of favourites for the World title. But Team Shockwave's skipper is playing down his chances. Last week was the first time he had raced the Farr 40 in a year, although perhaps coming into a regatta so fresh and without the weight of expectation could be seen as an advantage? Crichton doesn't see it that way. "We haven't done enough sailing to know whether we're good or bad. I think it's a disadvantage because other guys know when to change gear. We don't have that sort of knowledge."

Italian boat TWT is another team that has come into the frame following a very creditable 3rd place last week, but like Shockwave, the young crew skippered by Marco Rodolfi prefer to stay out of the limelight. Tactician Tiziano Nava believes fellow Italians Nerone to be a stronger bet for the championship. With finishes of 4-1-2 in the previous three Rolex Farr 40 Worlds, it would be foolish to rule out this Italian team co-skippered by Massimo Mezzaroma and Antonio Sodo Migliori. However, they need to stay out of trouble better than they managed in the Pre-Worlds. But for a close-quarters incident on the run with Team Shockwave, which resulted in Nerone's forced retirement from that race, the Italians could well have won the regatta.

There were many early starters and general recalls during the Pre-Worlds but the CYCA's race management are expecting the 28-boat fleet to be on their best behaviour. Principal Race Officer Peter Reggio says that the absence of a discard in the series means teams cannot afford to take risks, such as pushing the start line: "When it's on the line they'll behave, because they know it's too expensive if they get it wrong." Very few boats managed to salvage a good finish after being ordered back to restart, so perhaps the fleet will be a little more line shy than last week.

Barking Mad was one boat that showed a rare ability to bounce back from bad starts, although this is a skill that Jim Richardson would prefer not to have to use. Better than anybody, he understands the formula for winning Farr 40 regattas. "It's going to be a matter of consistency, and staying out of the deep finishes. It's just going to have to be a solid scoreboard, not a spectacular scoreboard. Last year at the Worlds in San Francisco for example, there were ten races and there were ten different winners."

The forecast is for good medium breezes tomorrow when two heats are scheduled. Richardson can't wait to begin his title defence. "I wouldn't bet against us, we feel pretty comfortable. However it comes down, we'll be ready for it."

Orange II Hits Whale

Bruno Peyron called Race Headquarters this evening to announce that the maxi-catamaran Orange II had just had a violent collision with a whale or an orca whilst making between 25 and 30 knots off the Argentinian coast. It was between 1700 and 1800 GMT, when the boat hit a big sea creature, initially with the port daggerboard, then with the rudder. Contacted shortly after1900 GMT, Bruno Peyron confirmed this double impact, adding that the boat was continuing on course downwind. The appendages do not seem to be broken and all of them will be carefully tested in two days time, as soon as the weather conditions enable the boat to be brought to a stand still and a diver to be sent under the hull. Contacted by telephone at 1935 GMT this evening, the skipper of Orange II had the latest information on the incident: �The two successive impacts were fairly s evere. The first one involved the port daggerboard, then just after a second impact with the rudder. The boat is not in danger. There doesn�t seem to be any leakage, but from the outside, you can see that some bits of material have come away. There is a vibration coming from the port rudder and for the time being we have the wind on the aft quarter to keep the boat flat and not put pressure on the appendages. We�re going to have to slow down and then bring the boat to a stand still as soon as we can, doubtless within the next 2 days, so as we can send one of the crew down to inspect under the hull. I think we hit a whale or perhaps an orca. We must have cut it in two given the speed we were going... Just goes to show, the race is never over... �

Bruno Peyron, by email, at 1745 GMT: � I did a talk this morning about th e dangers behind us and those that still lay ahead, including the most hazardous,the most unpredictable, a collision with a floating object or a whale...And there you go! We�ve done it...to the max! We were all in the windward cockpit and the boat was going flat out, between 25 and 30 knots, when we felt the impact with the daggerboard and then the rudder... Behind us was the sorry sight of the fin as it flicked up behind the transom! No doubt about it! Initial assessment:daggerboard, apparently intact but certainly damaged. Rudder, more serious... considerable impact on the leading edge...leaks, rudder stock inspections etc underway....".

What�s to be done?
Aboard Orange II, the debate is on as to what decisions to make and when? Bruno Peyron: "Remove and repair the rudder? ... possible but how will we get it back on? Finish the record attempt with a single rudder? ... possible but at a reduced pace! It�s a shame that it�s the port rudder which was hit as 3/4 of the round the world is on port tack (with the starboard rudder being more important than the other)... and the final quarter of our voyage must be raced on starboard tack, that means with the port rudder! ... �.

Doha 2006 Takes Trophy

The international crew on Doha 2006 have picked up their first piece of silverware in the Oryx Quest 2005 by winning the Amundsen Trophy. This exquisite trophy, created by British artist John Mellows, is made of stainless steel and measures 70 cm in height. It has been awarded by Amundsen Oslo, the official timekeeper for the race, to Doha 2006 for being the first boat to cross 163� West longitude. The line of longitude has important significance to Amundsen Oslo, the Norway-based company that was founded in 2002 by J�rgen Amundsen, a relative of the legendary polar explorer, Roald Amundsen. 163� West longitude was the route taken by Amundsen on his trip to the South Pole in 1911.

On the 14th of December 1911 Roald Amundsen became the first explorer to reach the South Pole after a close race with the British expedition headed by Captain Robert F. Scott. In 1926 he went on to fly over the North Pole in the airship Norge becoming the first person ever to visit both poles. Amundsen Oslo is closely linked to Roald Amundsen and his expeditions, and produces high-quality timepieces that focus on three distinct categories; polar, yachting and aviation. The trophy will be awarded to Brian Thompson and his crew when they arrive back in Doha.

There was other good news aboard the Qatari catamaran. At the 07:00 GMT poll on Tuesday Doha 2006 had further extended their lead over Cheyenne to over 1000 miles, 1002 nautical miles to be precise, and was recording instant speeds well in excess of those being recorded on Cheyenne. At the 07:00 GMT poll Doha 2006 was traveling at 26.2 knots against 14.3 knots on Cheyenne as both boats enjoyed perfect sailing in the deep south. Skipper Brian Thompson was reveling in the good news. �Today we notched up our second 600 mile day,� he wrote in his daily log. �That�s over 25 knots average for 24 hours, and we have had a 25 knot wind from the northwest allowing us to track due eastward. At the moment we are starting to get more westerly winds which will force us to gybe downwind over the next day or so. This will reduce our speed made good to Cape Horn, but will allow us to change our latitude easily and move from north to south over the course to position ourselves for the next wind direction. Behind us Cheyenne has now escaped the low and also reached the northwest winds. She is charging eastwards and over the next few days Cheyenne is going to be taking some miles back as she sails a more direct course.�

Aboard Cheyenne navigator Wouter Verbraak was also enjoying the sailing. �Some days are just perfect,� he wrote in his log. �Today was such a day. Steady 23 to 26 knots of boat speed and at least seven albatrosses doing their stunts around the boat. The sun even came out for a while, and although it didn't provide much warmth, at least it brought a smile to the crews faces. Looking ahead for the next 24 hours, we will be close to the center of a large and rather strong low which is moving southeast. This will give us some good winds for the next few days to propel us towards the Horn. No record breaking stuff in sight yet, but for sure some good daily averages. Our route is relatively far north, which reduces the chance of running into ice bergs. Something nobody regrets.�

Eating up the miles and picking up some silverware is all well and good, but all the competitors know that there is still a long way to sail before they reach safe harbor. One of the toughest stretches of the race lies ahead; the remote south Pacific, an undulating stretch of water that ends at Cape Horn, currently 2,616 miles ahead of Doha 2006�s razor sharp bows.

Rounding the Horn

Concentration was the watchword for Captain Peyron, when he rounded the Horn for the third time in his life. The first time was during the first round the world voyage in less than 80 days. That was back in 1993 at the helm of Commodore Explorer. The second time was in 2002, when he won back the Jules Verne Trophy with the crew of the first Orange. For this third great voyage, it was in an incredible time of just 32 days, 13 hours and 29 minutes since starting out from Ushant that he finished with the Pacific Ocean. However, it was not because Orange II had more than a week�s lead over the outright record around the world that the skipper and his crew could ease off or let the stress disturb their work to the south of the American continent.

�The atmosphere was very studious for this rounding of the Horn, as we had a lot of manoeuvres to do to get by the islands off South America,� explained Bruno Peyron last night as his cat crossed the longitude of Cape Horn. �The weather is not very good. There�s no excitement on board at all. We�re all aware that there�s a trap around Cape Horn, as you tend to ease off, and it�s not the time to do that. As we are all professionals on board, who understand that, there is no particular stress, but we�re all remaining concentrated.�

No time for any contemplation, as concentration was the order of the day, especially considering the hostile environment in this place and the weather forecast, which was announcing very violent winds over the coming hours. �We weren�t really able to take advantage of the scenery, even if we were very close to the De Fonso Islands near the mountains of Chile. We gybed afterwards. It was very overcast, with dark skies, full of contrasts, a black and white picture, with drizzle and squalls. An atmosphere rather like Northern Scotland in mid Winter or the south of South America at the moment!�
< br />Orange II then got on a bearing for the Lemaire Straits, where they remained becalmed for twenty or thirty minutes. There is still a long way to go to cover the South and North Atlantic to reach Ushant. A year ago, Cheyenne took more than ten days to reach the Equator. That is also what Peyron and Roger Nilson envisage. �To head back up to the Equator, it will take us around ten days. But it�s going to be rather hit and miss, as we�re going to have to pass through several weather systems up the South American coast. We know they are extremely volatile, and we can only see clearly what lies ahead for the coming 4 or 5 days.�

Shockwave Takes Pre Worlds

Neville Crichton surprised a few people, including himself, by winning the Rolex Farr 40 Pre-Worlds in Sydney today. Crichton and Team Shockwave have competed in just one Farr 40 event in the past 12 months, so they had not figured as a potential winner of the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds which begin next Tuesday.

"Our target was to be in the top five and we thought if we achieved that we'd probably be doing better than expected," said Crichton. As one of the less practised helmsman in the technically demanding Farr 40, Crichton has exceeded many people's expectations. "It was total luck, absolute luck," he joked, "so we're going into the Worlds as novices."

With another Aussie boat, Ichi Ban, taking 2nd overall, there are genuine hopes of seeing a home victory in the Worlds next week. Matt Allen was delighted with his team's performance. "We've obviously done better than expectations. Our speed has come good in the lighter range. We've found that sweet spot in the 8 - 12 knot wind range, so the boat is going well upwind in all conditions now."

Today's two races took place in classic conditions, three miles offshore from Sydney's legendary surfing beach of Bondi. With southerly winds of 16 - 20 knots and big rolling waves, there was plenty of surfing going on in the 28-boat Farr 40 fleet. Team Shockwave was reveling in the wind and waves, rounding the windward mark of the morning race in pole position and holding the lead to the finish. A 6th place in the final race sealed overall victory for Crichton with a score of 40 points from seven races. Ichi Ban turned in a similarly strong performance with a 7-2 score to notch up 47 points.

The Italian teams appeared to struggle in the lumpy stuff yesterday, but today Marco Rodolfi's TWT got the measure of the waves. Tactician Tiziano Nava explained the improvement: "I think today we had a good set-up on the sails and mast, and we did many practice runs before the start. Marco Rodolfi steered for half an hour in these conditions before the start. He drove the boat very well."

However, Nava acknowledged that the local teams still hold the advantage in the wavy conditions that typically exist outside Sydney Heads. "I think that in these conditions the Aussies prefer the chop and the waves. For us it is not the normal conditions that we find in Europe, where we have flatter water and not so big waves. We need to practise to have good speed in these conditions."

The sole French team of Twins, steered by Erik Maris, was burning around the course in the final race, leading at the leeward gate by 45 seconds. But disaster struck down the final run when they tore their heavy-air spinnaker. They were still in with a good chance of winning when they hoisted the light-air spinnaker, but the 20-knot breeze got its claws into a small rip that soon started widening until this sail was shredded too. The French could only watch as the front-runners surfed past them, and they had to be satisfied with 8th place.

There were a couple of notable absentees from the race course. Richard Perini's Evolution, a local favourite for the world title, stayed ashore - perhaps wisely using the extra day to recharge their batteries after a poor showing in the previous two days of the Pre-Worlds. Hasso Plattner and Morning Glory started the morning heat but the German crew rounded the first mark in third-last place and subsequently retired from racing.

Perhaps some teams are keeping their powder dry for the big championship next week. Many will be hoisting new sails next week, and subtle changes like this could see a change in the pecking order. But 'new boy' Neville Crichton has certainly established himself as a contender, while other more fancied skippers have struggled.

The Italian contingent came on strong at the beginning but faded later on, although Crichton saw it slightly differently. "I think the Italians were on form at the beginning of the regatta, and we improved throughout the regatta. I don't think they've sailed worse, I think we've improved. We've done very little racing, just one Farr 40 regatta in the last 12 months. And we've never sailed with this crew, so it's a complete learning curve for us." Will his beginner's luck hold through to next week? It's hard to say in a fleet as tightly fought as the Farr 40s.

Cape Horn in 32 Days

It is at the speed of 28 knots that the maxi catamaran Orange II has rounded Cape Horn! Bruno Peyron's giant multihull crossed the longitude 67�16 W at 23:32 GMT on Friday February 25, 2005.

Orange II has joined Cape Horn in 32 days 13 hours and 29 minutes. She finishes with the Pacific Ocean with a 7 days and three hours lead over Cheyenne's time of passage in 2004 whereas Fossett's cat was going to establish the absolute record around the world in 58 days.

By the same time, Orange II establishes a new official reference on the crossing of the Southern Pacific Ocean between Tasmania and Cape Horn in 8 days time 18 hours and 06 minutes. This record will have to be officialized by the WSSRC, just like the record of Indian Ocean established one week ago between the Cape of Agulhas (South Africa) and Tasmania in 9 days 11 hours and 04 minutes.

Intermediate times of passage to Cape Horn are incr edibles. Orange II will have spent 18 days and 8 hours from the Cape of Good Hope, that is to say nearly three days better than the preceding time of reference on this course held by Lo�ck Peyron on Innovation Explorer during The Race. She also establishes a new time of reference between the Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn in 10 days and 23 hours, which is nearly two days of better than the preceding time of reference established by Bruno Peyron himself aboard Orange I during the Jules Verne Trophy in 2002...

Various times of passage to Cape Horn

Ushant - Cape Horn
Orange II, Bruno Peyron, 2004 : 32 days 13 hours 29 minutes
Cheyenne, Steve Fossett, 2004 : 39 days 16 hours 16 minutes (+7d 02h 47�)

Good Hope - Cape Horn
Orange II, Bruno Peyron, 2004 : 18 days 08 hours 08 minutes
Innovation Explorer, Lo�c Peyron, 2001 : 21 days 07 hours 05 minutes

Leeuwin - Cape Horn
Orange II, Bruno Peyron, 2004 : 10 days 23 hou rs 35 minutes
Orange I, Bruno Peyron, 2002 : 12 days 19 hours 30 minutes

Tasmania - Cap Horn (Pacific Ocean record WSSRC)
Orange II, Bruno Peyron, 2004 : 8 days 18 hours 06 minutes
Cheyenne, Steve Fossett, 2004: 11 days 20 hours 18 minutes

Tonite: Cape Horn

The crew of the Orange II maxi catamaran skippered by Bruno Peyron has every right to be beaming as they approach the Horn. Having set out from Ushant on 23rd January to attempt to smash the absolute crewed round the world sailing record, the 37-metre giant will be rounding the mythical Cape Horn tonight at around 22.00 GMT, after only 32 days at sea. This is an astounding feat, when you know that they will be entering the Southern Atlantic Ocean 7 days ahead of the amazing record set last winter by the American Steve Fossett (Cheyenne) during his victorious circumnavigation in 58 days.
As Orange II rounds the Horn, she will also be setting a new record time for the Pacific crossing between Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn, set by Peyron's previous boat, Orange I, in 2002.

This will be the third time that Bruno Peyron has rounded Cape Horn. Previously he passed the infamous cape on his two winning journeys for the Jules Verne Trophy, in 1993 on board Commodore Explorer and in 2002 on board Orange I.

The weather conditions forecast for tonight's rounding of the Horn look clement with 25-knot westerly winds. However, this weekend the story is likely to be very different. On Sunday, Orange II looks like paying dearly for rounding the Horn with rough seas, strong 40-knot winds gusting to 70 knots.

Extracts from today's radio session with Bruno Peyron:

The state of mind before the Horn: We're just keeping focussed, as the weather is a little bit unpredictable. The wind is fairly unstable blowing between 20 and 28 knots. It's difficult for us to find the right sail combination. We're making between 22 and 34.5 knots. The sea is choppy. Now is not the time to do anything stupid. We've just seen a first patch of blue sky, which is really nice. We're 230 miles from The Horn. We decided to tack a little further up, as the winds may not be so favourable closer to the Chilean coast, because of the likely effect of the coast.

Ushant - Cape Horn in 32 days: Honestly, it is a bit difficult to realise, as in general after thirty days, we would be off New Zealand. In the Whitbread, they reached the Cape of Good Hope in thirty days. I'm more surprised by the fact that we're managing to get almost the maximum possible out of the boat. We're pushing her all the way almost all the time, except in the periods, when we ease off, when we're down to around 92% of her capability.

The relief of reaching the Horn: You have to be careful about this idea. In 1993, it was really a moment of relief, as on the previous day we had 85 knots of wind. You have to be cautious, because it could well be the same on the other side. However, it's certainly a sort of symbol when you reach the other side, as it means you have left behind the hostile environment... even if it could be like that on the other side. This will be the third time I have rounded the Horn after the previous two Jules Verne Trophy races. I hope to be as successful as on the previous two occasions. It's a place that is really magical. It can be violent or very beautiful and peaceful. Between the storms, there are calm zones. The islands around the Horn and the Patagonian channels are fabulous places. On board we have a lot of experience. Together we have more than thirty round the world trips under our belts, so I don't need to point out the symbolic value of this exceptional spot. We're already looking ahead to the North Atlantic. We can see 5-6 days ahead.

Crossing the road: In 1993, we did the Jules Verne Trophy in a dragster, which was low in the water. We therefore established some safety rules, such as asking the helmsman, whether we could "cross the road" (to go from one hull to the other). This morning it was manageable, with smallish waves. Ludo wanted to go to the Right Bank to have a coffee without putting on his oilskin. When he returned, he asked the helmsman for permission. Bernard Stamm reasonably let him go across, and then the next thing was Ludo stuck in the middle of the net, soaked to the skin, so everyone burst out laughing!

Physical well-being: From time to time, there's a queue to see the boat's doctor. They go into his surgery. Roger Nilson is the doctor, and looks after the navigation and loves taking pictures too. We're not on board a toy, so we can't let the excitement get out of control. We're naturally focussing on our work, and know we're happy with each other, without having to make any comments such as telling each other that it's going well. Let's just hope it continues like that. But it will be down to each of us, if it does continue or not. You can't get through a journey like this one, without pushing hard at times. When I look at the faces, I think back to 93.

Around the world in 50 days? That really annoys me. It's like back in 93, when everyone kept saying after we rounded the Horn that we would be finishing in less than 80 days. Get it into your head that that is not the goal. The objective is to finish in less than 58 days. In 1993, during the whole climb back up, the pressure was on us... Firstly, we'll be trying to keep things under control, as best we can, working hard to try to bring the men and the boat home in good condition.

How things have changed: What has happened in our sport over the past half century is quite impressive. Sailing is a sport that has undergone an extraordinary evolution in just a short time, rather like car racing in the early days. In 93, we thought we could sail for 11 or 12 weeks non-stop without damaging anything, but we had no idea how to get a boat ready for such conditions. We sailed very conservatively, and set ourselves a rule of always sailing below 20 knots. Since then, we have acquired experience about the strength of the materials and the boats, and we have started to design racing boats specifically for this voyage.

The traps in the Atlantic: the first trap is that of breaking something. Then, there are the traps in the weather. We know them: the St. Helena high, the trade winds, etc... Then, there are other traps: we zigzagged around whales, ice and weed in the deep south. In the Atlantic, there aren't many difficulties like these, but as we get closer to civilisation, there are other traps with all the rubbish floating around in the water. In the North Atlantic, you can see something floating around every 300 metres! If it's a branch, that's one thing, but if it's a plank, that's quite another. If it's a container... I can remember our first night after the start, when we received a message telling us that there was a container floating around in the Bay of Biscay...

Data :
Day at sea: 33rd
Date : 25/02/2005
Time (GMT) : 10h10
Latitude : 57 19.24' S
Longitude : 77 10.04' W
Instantaneous speed: 25 knots
Instantaneous bearing: 74
Average speed: 25.9 knots
Speed over 24h : 23.8 knots
Distance over 24h : 572 nm
Speed since the start: 23.8 knots
Total distance: 18289 nm
Remaining distance: 7455.80 nm
Lead on day 32:
- Jules Verne Trophy record: +3594 nm (ahead)
- absolute record: +2636 nm (ahead)

Daedalus Log

Date - Friday 25th February 2005
Time - 0820 GMT
Position - 047 . 24 S 139 . 27 E
Barometer - 1011 mb steady
Sea Condition - Very calm, following seas
Sky - Blue skies, with little cloud

We are at present on the edge of a high that is close to New Zealand. We have just gybed to allow us to go further South, to ensure that we do not get too deep into the light winds ahead of us. The sea state is really very light. I went on deck in the night, a little before l was going to take the helm, and was amazed at the calmness of the evening.

We know that some heavy weather is coming our way and before the day is out, we will be running in high winds and big seas, well battened down. At the moment, Nick Bubb is changing the broken battens in the mainsail. Although the No.1,2,3,and 5 battens are broken, we are only changing the No.1 and No.5 battens, and taking out the No. 2 and 3, to allow Nick to repair them, and then we will refit them. By the way, it\'s Nick Leggatt who is my navigator, and Nick Bubb who is responsible for battens, apart from other work briefs, names can be misleading.

According to our on-shore weather router, Lee Bruce, we should continue with light winds for the next 12 / 18 hours, and then we should prepare for some heavy weather sailing. The last time l went round the world and was not far from where we are now, we had 50 / 60 kts over the deck and the boat went well.

Nick Bubb and others are well on the way to fitting the repaired battens into the mainsail, Simon Redding is still trying to repair the starboard watermaker, we have jybed on to a starboard tack, l have had a shave and a real clean up, and now feel like a million dollars, Goncalo is off watch and is having a well deserved sleep, Nick Bubb is considering what to prepare for lunch and supper, it is his day in the galley, l could do with steak and chips and a couple of drinks, all the guys would go for that as well.

Life Goes On - Tony Bullimore

Linky Sailing News

Racing Schwab finishes Vendee Globe. Oryx Quest. Farr 40 pre worlds

Records 1 tack to the Horn

News PK on TP 52's. Ullman interview. Scully report. Cancer surivor sails. 100 day sailor. Ready for land. Schwab in context. Fusion M Team

Great Lakes PA ferry fever

American Schwab Finishes Vendee Globe

It was at 08 hours 00 minutes and 57 seconds GMT this Friday 25th February 2005 that the 60 foot monohull Ocean Planet skippered by American Bruce Schwab crossed the finish line of the Vend�e Globe 2004, a single-handed race, without stopovers and without assistance departing and finishing in Les Sables d�Olonne (France).

The race time to make the 23 680 miles is 109 days 19 hours and 58 minutes and 57 seconds at an average theoretical speed across the course of 8.98 knots.

References (GMT):
Start and finish: Les Sables d�Olonne (France)
Number of miles to cover: 23 680 miles
Start date: Sunday 7 November 2004 at 1202 GMT

Schwab�s Race time: 109 days 19 hours and 58 minutes and 57 seconds.
Delay behind winner: 22 days 08 hours and 13 minutes and 02 seconds.

Schwab�s Race (Ocean Planet):
Passage of the equator (outward trip): 20 November 2004 at 0800 GMT 12 days 19 hours and 58 minutes

Passage of the Cape of Good Hope (South Africa): 7 December 2004 at 0805 GMT after 29 days 20 hours and 03 minutes

Passage of Cape Leeuwin (Australia): 23 December 2004 at 1900 GMT after 46 days 06 hours and 58 minutes

Passage of Cape Horn (Chile): on 19 January 2005 at 1050 GMT after 72 days 22 hours and 48 minutes

Passage of the equator (return): on 05 February 2005 at 2315 GMT after 90 days 11 hours and 13 minutes

ODK Explained

It was a still, summer morning in Fremantle, Western Australia when the massive trimaran Geronimo was towed out of the harbor to resume racing the Oryx Quest 2005. The water was flat calm, the towering mast reflecting on the glassy surface, and a thin line of bubbles the only wake as a Fremantle Yacht Club launch and a couple of RIB�s maneuvered the boat out to open water. The Cuben Fiber mainsail was raised, a large headsail hoisted, the tow lines dropped, and the boat heeled slightly to a new breeze as de Kersauson pointed the bows south. After 54 hours in port Geronimo was repaired and ready for the tough sailing ahead. �It is going to be hard to catch up,� de Kersauson said as they left the dock. �We are almost 3,000 miles behind the leaders.� Then he smiled, his eyes sparkling with anticipation. �But this is a yacht race and anything can happen.�

Olivier de Kersauson is one of those rare, larger-than-life characters. He is not an easy man to get to know, but like many great people, he is loyal beyond measure. Those who have sailed with him will attest that he prides himself on the fact that his crew come back year after year to race around the world with him. He was born on the 20th July, 1944, the seventh child in a family of eight. At an early age Olivier broke away from his family. While not inattentive, he was a pupil who did not settle in well to school life, especially with the fathers at the catholic boarding school where he was sent. In the end he attended 11 schools before finally graduating and taking up studying economics. He was in his early twenties before he found his true calling. He met the great Eric Tabarly in St. Malo on the north coast of France, and Tabarly invited him on board his yacht, Pen Duick. This chance meeting led to eight years of sailing together during which he was Tabarly�s mate, and his love of the sea grew as the two sailors covered thousands of open ocean miles.

Olivier quickly developed a passion for multihulls and became a pioneer building the first multihull out of composite materials. He built an innovative trimaran by the name of Poulain and sailed it around the world in 1989-1990 setting the single-handed round the world speed record in the process. From 1992 onwards he spent his time working towards the Trophee Jules Verne, a coveted trophy awarded to the yacht that sails the fastest around the world. In 1994 he sailed around the world on Lyonnaise des Eaux at the same time as the late Peter Blake and Robin Knox-Johnston were aboard ENZA (now Daedalus). Blake and company managed to go around the world in 74 days and 22 hours, while de Kersauson and his crew took 77 days and 5 hours. It was a disappointment to the French sailor, but Olivier is not a person to give up easily. He remained steadfast in his determination to win the trophy and with some improvements to his boat and a new sponsor, Sport Elec, he took off again to race around the world. They returned triumphant 71 days, 14 hours, 22 minutes and 8 seconds later. In 2001 he launched Geronimo and it was at the helm of this exceptional yacht that Olivier de Kersauson took the Jules Verne Trophy for the second time in 2004 in a time of 63 days, 13 hours and 59 minutes.

This race around the world marks his 9th circumnavigation. He has become part of ocean racing history and a legend in France. He attributes his success to his astute understanding of the elements. "At sea, I watch what is going on all the time. I learn to interpret the elements, to understand what each cloud and each swell means, why the sea looks different. I remain focused on that. I don�t talk and don�t like people talking around me. For example, I can�t stand a helmsman talking, because concentration is very important. You can�t do two things at once." Building Geronimo has been a dream come true for him. "Today, I am not able to build a better boat than this one. If she had been built for someone else, I�d have been really annoyed. It�s rather like the simple joy you find when you are a child. I�m living a fabulous part of my life.�

Olivier de Kersauson and his crew now embark on one of their toughest challenges. They trail the other yachts in the race by a large margin which means that they will be playing catch-up until the finish in Qatar. For a team accustomed to being at the front of the pack setting new records, it�s going to be a little different to be trailing the fleet. They will soon lose sight of land and plummet south into the Roaring Forties where the giant trimaran will come alive again and Olivier will be back in his true element.

1st PV Race Finishers

Thursday was beat the clock day in Del Rey Yacht Club's 18th biennial Corum International Yacht Race, and Scout Spirit in PHRF-AA and overall, Beau Geste in PHRF-A and Chicken Little in PHRF-B were the winners.

After Doug Baker's high-tech Magnitude 80 became the first Racing Division entry to finish at 10 o'clock local time (8 p.m. PST) Wednesday night, and with only six of the original 10 Racing Division entries having completed the 1,125 nautical miles from Marina del Rey, Calif., it still remained to calculate the corrected handicap time to see who would collect the hardware, including a Corum Admiral's Cup Trophy 41 watch---retail value $2,195---for the overall winner of each class at the awards presentation Saturday.

The top prize for first overall will go to the Newport Sea Base's 78-foot turbo sled, Scout Spirit, which finished at dawn Thursday well within the 18� hours owed it by Magnitude 80, whose elapsed time was 5 days 6 hours 59 minutes 56 seconds.

That was eight hours slower than the record of 4:23:00:14 set by Richard and Camille Daniels' MacGregor 65, Joss, in 1985 in considerably different conditions. Scout Spirit's ET was 5:16:42:20.

The record survived one of its owners, Richard Daniels, who died a month ago. In his race, the racers had tailwinds most of the way. This time they estimated they flew spinnakers only a third of the time and otherwise were slugging it out with headwinds almost as much as they were reaching. Such are the variables of races to the Mexican mainland.

That, along with how well Joss was sailed, is why the record has withstood the challenges of some of the best 21st century marine technology. It makes it doubtful whether even Randall Pittman's Dubois 90, Genuine Risk, if its owner hadn't injured a foot and sent the boat sail testing instead, or Roy Disney's maxZ86, Pyewacket, if its topmast hadn't cracked off Cabo San Lucas, could have done it.

And did Scout Spirit's co-skippers, Dave Janes and Jay Steinbeck, ever think they had a chance in the PHRF-AA class?

"You bet!" said Janes, who outsailed conventional ULDB 70s with his then-new Transpac 52, J-Bird III, to win Division 2 in the 2001 Transpacific Yacht Race to Hawaii. "I've never had a race when I didn't expect to win."

J-Bird III is now Flash, which Mark Jones and Dick Watts of San Francisco chartered and chased Hong Kong businessman Karl Kwok's Beau Geste to first place in PHRF-A and second place overall.

Kwok's primary helmsman, Gavin Brady, one of the world's top match racers, called "it the longest match race in the history of sailing. The boats are so close that you got pushed really hard. Their guys did a really good job."

Kwok said, "This [6� days] is the longest race I've ever sailed. We did Transpac in eight days [in 2003]. But what's wonderful about this race are the whales all over the place, the dolphins, and I even saw a green flash"---the sundown phenomenon at sea.

Not so wonderful were several occasions when Beau Geste's appendages were seized by kelp rooted in the sea floor, stopping the boat dead in the water. Jon Gunderson dived under to cut it free.

Brady said at the dock, "We were warned, 'Look out for kelp,' but nobody on this boat had ever done this race. It was frustrating to watch [Flash] sail by. Three times we were as far apart as that boat [in the opposite slip]. Then the wind came up [Tuesday] and we stretched 20 miles on them in 12 hours."

In a similar match race scenario between Santa Cruz 50s a few miles ahead on the same day, Kirk Wilson's Bay Wolf from San Pedro, Calif., pulled a big gainer on Don Adams and Rick Palmer's Chicken Little, Marina del Rey.

"We passed them 200 feet apart in the dark but didn't know who it was," Brady said.

"It was us," Bay Wolf watch captain Justin McJones said.

Bay Wolf was rolling, too, but it wasn't quite enough.

Because Chicken Little is a heavier boat, Bay Wolf owed it 3 seconds per mile or 56 minutes 15 seconds for the race. Bay Wolf finished well in front, but navigator Richard Parlette's eyes were on his watch as he stood at the dock in the early morning glow. Then the word came over the radio: Chicken Little had just finished less than an hour behind to correct out by 3 minutes 38 seconds.

"That hurts," Parlette said. "It was a tiring race . . . so much slatting around. We had five sails on the foredeck in the last two miles and never stopped making sail changes. In the first two days the wind went 360 in two full loops. We jibed outside of Cabo and stayed outside while they went inside. Next thing we were 20 miles ahead."

Janes, through his donation and some promotion, was instrumental in securing Scout Spirit (formerly Zephyrus IV and Bright Star) for the Newport Sea Base.

"Our idea is to arouse interest among young sailors in keelboat racing," he said. "Next time we hope we can do it with Sea Scouts as crew."

1 Tack to the Horn

The wind has swung right round to the West and is not providing the giant multihull with the best angle of attack given that the boat performs less well in downwind conditions: �We can�t complain� smiles Bruno Peyron as he watches the speedometer hover between 23 and ...33 knots! �We�re extending the course just a little by making some big tack changes with the wind on the aft quarter.�

Satisfaction has a place now aboard Orange II, on the point of adding a few extras to its �record� collection. Steeped in history the famous Horn will be rounded as tightly as possible: �It�s a legendary place and everyone aboard hopes to benefit from the fabulous sight of the snow-capped peaks of the Andes mountain range...�.

After 32 days at sea, the boat is lighter and currently reaching its full potential. Orange II will soon hang a left to begin its climb back up the Atlantic; the Horn is not a success in itself and the coming days doubtless have their share of surprises and difficulties for a boat and its crew who have sacrificed a great deal to performance. �In the Southern Ocean, you don�t get miles for nothing. They are paid for by pain and fatigue.�

Peyron and his 13 warriors will have earned the mercies of the Horn this evening. Bruno Peyron: �We�re going to leave the Pacific with a good �score� being the essence of our exploits. Our downwind tack has slowed us down a little but I�m not at odds about sparing the boat a little in this way. The passage of the Horn is always a high point. Everyone aboard wants to make the most of it. A bit of light would be welcome as we haven�t seen the sun throughout the whole of our Pacific crossing. The Horn evokes a lot of memories. In 1993, we experienced it at its worst, 80 to 85 knots of wind and 17 metre waves. It can be a very nasty place. We all know that there is still everything to play for after the Horn. 4 to 5 difficult days lay in store for us before we rediscover the more �civilised� lands. We will be slowed on the approach to Brazil and we�ll make the most of that time to give the boat a good going over.�

Farr 40 Pre Worlds Day 2

The local Australian teams have taken up the running in the Rolex Farr 40 Pre-Worlds, after a torrid time on the water for the Italian teams which had dominated the first day. Nerone came ashore as runaway leader on the scoreboard, with consistent finishes of 2-7 giving the Italians 19 points after five races, compared with the 35 points of second-placed Team Shockwave.

But Shockwave skipper Neville Crichton put in a protest against the 2003 World Champions for a downwind incident during the first race of the day. Nerone's owners Massimo Mezzaroma and Antonio Sodo Migliori decided to retire from the race, and with their 2 points converted to 29 points for the retirement, the top-rated Italian team have been relegated to 5th overall.

Team Shockwave now leads on 34 points, despite an ordinary day, as strategist Mark Heeley admitted: "We didn't have a famous day, but we were always quick. It was that little windier today and on that next rig setting we were going very well. Also, the waves were very difficult but Neville was doing a great job of steering round them. Our tactician Michael Coxon is also doing a fantastic job of putting us in the right place, just about all the time. He is sensational."

However, it was another Aussie boat that had other sailors gasping in awe as Ichi Ban scorched her way up the rankings into 2nd overall, following a superb score of 3-4 in the lumpy conditions. Skipper Matt Allen was over early in the last race but returned to restart and by the end of the first leg they was inside the top ten, and by the finish Ichi Ban was 4th. Fiamma's tactician Ian Walker, who also enjoyed some good scores of 5-3 today, said Ichi Ban was the fastest boat by some margin.

TWT had been leading overall going into today after scores of 2-1-5 in the light winds and flat water of day one. The conditions were dramatically different today, with a 12 knot south-easterly blowing across a large and lumpy swell. If yesterday was Mediterranean in style, today provided the challenge that many sailors have been predicting for Sydney. Perhaps this explained the local teams' rise up the rankings.

TWT's tactician Tiziano Nava said: "We were struggling to hit our numbers today, we found it hard to maintain good pace through the waves." Sometimes, a lack of speed can force your hand, and make you do things in desperation. Already back in mid-fleet, Nava saw a gap at the leeward gate to get inside two boats, but the gap closed and TWT fouled another competitor. "I said we should go in there, and there was no room, so it was my mistake," admitted Nava, who could still smile despite his disappointment.

The Italians took their obligatory 720 penalty, and stalled the rudder in the process. By the time they had extricated themselves from the penalty turn, they were dead last. The Italian boat recovered to 22nd in that race, and it is a measure of their outstanding first-day performance that they still find themselves in 4th overall.

While Aussie teams top the scoreboard overall, the two individual race wins went to two American teams. Philippe Kahn's Pegasus made amends for a poor first day, when they had to return twice out of three starts for crossing the start line early. Today Kahn hit the middle of the line to perfection and launched up the first beat to round ahead and maintain that lead to the finish. With double Olympic champion Mark Reynolds calling tactics in the same waters where he won the Star gold medal in Sydney four years ago, Pegasus rounded off a good day with a 10th place.

Reigning World Champion Barking Mad bounced back from an indifferent 13th in the first race of the day to take the winner's gun later in the afternoon. Jim Richardson's team are putting in a consistent but not outstanding performance to be lying 3rd overall, and are still well in contention for winning the Rolex Pre-Worlds.

Some teams, notably the Italians, think it is bad luck for the World Championships to win the Pre-Worlds, so perhaps Nerone did not feel too sore about their retirement today. But Barking Mad's tactician Terry Hutchinson said they would be doing everything in their power to win tomorrow. "There's too much invested by our owner in this not to do our very best to win every regatta," he said. The top American team have shown a remarkable ability to pull back through the fleet from very bad beginnings, and as Hutchinson said, it could be that particular skill that determines who will win the Worlds next week. "It's the races where you're 20th at the top mark and which you can convert to a 6th or a 7th are the ones that will win you the regatta."

For more information about the the Rolex Farr 40 Pre-Worlds and the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship, including daily racing reports, results and high-resolution images, go to www.regattanews.com or www.farr40.org

Rolex Farr 40 Pre-Worlds 2005 - Provisional Race Results after Day 2 (Top 10) Pos Yacht Name Country Skipper Points

1 Team Shockwave AUS Neville Crichton 8-4-2-6-14, 34
2 Ichi Ban AUS Matt Allen 22-7-3-3-4, 39
3 Barking Mad USA Jim Richardson 3-17-9-13-1, 43
4 TWT ITA Marco Rodolfi 2-1-5-15-22, 45
5 Nerone ITA Massimo Mezzaroma/ Antonio Sodo Migliori 4-5-1-29-7, 46
6 Brighton Star AUS David Gotze 13-13-8-8-11, 53
7 Warpath USA Steve and Fred Howe 12-25-4-11-2, 54
8 Mascalzone Latino ITA Vincenzo Onorato 1-8-11-22-15, 57
9 Twins 2 FRA Erik Maris 11-6-22-12-6, 57
10 Fiamma ITA Alessandro Barnaba 14-18-18-5-3, 58

PV Race Day 8

The first three arrivals for the finish of Del Rey Yacht Club's 18th biennial Corum International Yacht Race were from the Salsa Division, not the ever-diminishing Racing fleet, unless you count Barking Spider 3 owner David Kory.

Kory and his crew from Barking Spider 3---an early race casualty---arrived by air Wednesday as Bob and Kathy Patterson's Lark, Marina del Rey, crept across the line in fading zephyrs as harbinger of the Salsa fleet that started five to seven days ahead of the racers, with three stops and a little fishing along the way. Several other Salsas followed, with nary a Racer Division entry in sight.

"We're the first Racers to P.V.," Kory said, "with or without a boat."

Indeed, Randall Pittman's Genuine Risk withdrew two days before its scheduled start, and Roy Disney's Pyewacket, its anticipated rival in pursuit of the race's 20-year-record, bid adios off Baja California Tuesday with a crack in the top of its mast.

That was the same day that Jack Taylor fired up his engine after falling hopelessly out of contention in the three-way Santa Cruz 70 competition, leaving six boats vying for Racing Division honors in the waning stages of the 1,125-nautical mile race.

In the Transpac 52 match race, Karl Kwok's Beau Geste, with world-class talent aboard including helmsman Gavin Brady and navigator Juan Vila, outsailed Mark Jones and Dick Watts' Flash by 18 miles with a 225-mile day to take a 24-mile lead with 137 miles to go.

Similarly, Kirk Wilson's Bay Wolf took charge of the Santa Cruz 50 contest by stretching its lead by 15 miles to 16 over Don Adams and Rick Palmer's Chicken Little with 96 miles to go.

But if Doug Baker's maxi sled, Magnitude 80, had thoughts about succeeding Genuine Risk and Pyewacket in the record chase, those vanished with the brisk breezes that gave Pyewacket momentary hope before its sudden exit. The big boat from Long Beach had logged a strong 286 miles at 11.9 knots in the 24 hours before Wednesday morning's position reports---the longest day's run for anybody---but fell into dying winds in the middle of the Gulf of California. The magic hour came and went with only Salsas in sight.

Magnitude 80's ETA was 4:17 p.m. PST, which would be about 4 � hours shy of the record of 4 days 23 hours 0 minutes 14 seconds set by the MacGregor 65 Joss in 1985.

Not only that, but PHRF-AA class honors could fall to Scout Spirit, the Newport Sea Base's Reichel/Pugh 78 formerly known as Zephyrus IV and Bright Star, with Dave Janes and Jay Steinbeck as co-skippers. With its handicap advantage of one minute per mile---18 3/4 hours overall---the boat from Newport Beach, Calif. had an ETA Thursday morning of only 16 � hours behind Mag 80.

Curiously, the only sighting reported of Genuine Risk was by Kory on the Feb. 18 Friday evening after the biggest boats started. His MacGregor 65, Barking Spider 3, had started a day earlier, but he turned around when his main sail started to tear in the fierce headwinds of the San Pedro Channel.

Kory said, "We sailed downwind back to Avalon [on Santa Catalina Island] and moored right next to Genuine Risk."

Instead of racing, Genuine Risk took advantage of the reversed prevailing winds to test spinnakers over two or three days up the coast from San Diego.

In fact, Kory sailed all the way back to San Francisco, without ever having to strain the main upwind.

"I've delivered a ton of boats to San Francisco, and I've never surfed north," he said. "We did 120 miles in 10 hours."

Kory's friend and crew member, Marianne Wheeler, said, "It was very disappointing for all of us, but the beautiful run home made us all feel better."

That's how it was for another MacGregor 65---Richard and Camille Daniels' Joss---going south in '85. But Kory and his crew weren't finished. They parked the boat and flew to Puerto Vallarta.

Kory said, "We wanted to be here to cheer everyone else in. We didn't want to miss all of this."

Earlier, the Pattersons' J/46, Lark, finished in time for breakfast at 9 a.m. local time. Kathy called her first offshore race "quite an experience and adventure," although "the first night was sheer hell."

After they had stopped to assist a dismasted non-racer in the San Pedro Channel, the headwinds built to 25 knots but, Kathy Patterson said, "the boat rode really well. We didn't have any sick people [as several other boats did]. We had great food, but this was not a good fishing race. I had to improvise."

Other Salsa finishers at this report were, in order, Alan Blunt and David Fox's Cheyenne, Scott Adam's Quest, Mark Biddison's Ginny B, Andy Sibert's Enchanted Lady, Jeff Allen's Lazy Bones, Jim Maslon's Broadway Babe and Gary Green's Green Dragon.

Daily position reports, including latitude and longitude, and standings are posted at www.delreyyachtclub.org.

Corum, the title sponsor for this race, will present the owner or skipper of the overall winner in each class with a Corum Admiral's Cup Trophy 41 watch, which has a retail value of $2,195.

Corum is an independent, family owned company producing high-quality and prestigious Swiss watches since 1955. The Admiral's Cup Trophy 41, with a 41mm stainless steel case and nautical pennants instead of numerals to indicate the hours, was just introduced by Corum last year. The watch, along with the complete Corum line, may be seen at www.corum.ch

Racing Division

(Wednesday morning's standings by corrected handicap time; seconds-per-mile handicap ratings listed)

PHRF-AA (started Feb. 18)

1. Scout Spirit (R/P 77), --120, David Janes/Jay Steinbeck, Newport Sea Base Syndicate, Newport Beach, 196 miles to go.

2. Magnitude 80 (Andrews 80), --180, Doug Baker, Long Beach, Calif., 71.

RETIRED: Pyewacket (Reichel/Pugh maxZ86), --265, Roy E. Disney, Los Angeles.

DID NOT START: Genuine Risk (Dubois 90), --274, Randall Pittman, San Diego.

PHRF-A (started Feb. 17)

1. Beau Geste (Transpac 52), --78, Karl Kwok, Hong Kong, 137.

2. Flash (Transpac 52), --78, Mark Jones/Dick Watts, San Francisco, 161.

RETIRED: Barking Spider (MacGregor 65), --24, David Kory, Point Richmond, Calif.

PHRF-B (started Feb. 16)

1. Bay Wolf (S/C50), --3, Kirk Wilson, San Pedro, Calif., 96.

2. Chicken Little (Santa Cruz 50T), 0, Don Adams/Rick Palmer, Los Angeles, 112.

RETIRED: Horizon (S/C 50), --3, Jack Taylor, Dana Point, Calif.

Salsa Division

(after Leg 1 of 3)

SPINNAKER-A

1. Lark (J/46), 45, Bob and Kathy Patterson, Los Angeles.

2. Cheyenne (Whiting 49), 75, Alan Blunt, Venice, Calif./David Fox, Santa Cruz, Calif.

3. Broadway Babe (C&C 110), 72, Jim Maslon, Marina del Rey, Calif., DNF.

RETIRED: Masquerade (Choate 40), 72, Tim Coker, San Diego.

SPINNAKER-B

1. Green Dragon (Catalina 380), 120, Gary Green, Culver City, Calif.

2. Enchanted Lady (Roberts 55 ketch), 96, Andy Sibert, Seal Beach, Calif., DNF.

NON-SPINNAKER-A

1. Lazy Bones (Irwin 54), 99, Jeff Allen, Marina del Rey, Calif.

2. Quest (Davidson 53), 72, Scott Adam, Marina del Rey, Calif.

T3. Ginny B (Beneteau 46), 78, Mark Biddison, Boulder, Colo., DNF.

T3. Far Niente (Catalina 42), 102, Patrick Hearne, Newport Beach, Calif., DNF.

NON-SPINNAKER-B

1. Camelot (Catalina 36), 144, Hiro Funaoku, Marina del Rey, Calif.

2. Wind Dancer (Tartan 38), 120, William Solberg, Los Angeles, Calif., DNF.

Unique Regatta Auction

Scout Spirit, the Reichel Pugh 78-foot, fractional rig, maxi turbo sled recently donated to the Newport Sea Base, is being auctioned to race in the First Team Real Estate Invitational Regatta May 19-22.

The boat currently is contending for top big-boat honors in the Corum International Yacht Race from Marina del Rey to Puerto Vallarta.

Scout Spirit was originally known as Zephyrus IV, when it set the current record for the Cape Town to Rio de Janeiro race. Later, it sailed under new ownership and the name Bright Star until donated to the Newport Sea Base.

Those seeking adventure on the water and the speed of world-class racing yachts won�t want to miss this unique opportunity to skipper one of the faster sailboats.

�This is a chance to race Scout Spirit for an entire weekend, as if it were your own,� Jay Swigart, event co-chair, explained, �and your contribution benefits the community, given that auction proceeds are donated to Hoag Hospital and the Newport Sea Base.�

Event co-chair Jim Madden said, �This is truly a unique opportunity to enjoy an e-ticket ride and test your sailing skills against some of the best sailors in the world.�

The top bid also will receive event Silver Sponsor privileges, including logo recognition on Scout Spirit, banners, advertisements and a variety of printed materials, as well as access to elite social functions held throughout the event.

The minimum bid starts at $30,000 with a $500 incremental increase for each new bid. Online auction close date is March 31, 2005. If a bid is placed for $40,000 in the �buy it now� option, the bidder will win the auction. Auction proceeds will benefit Hoag Hospital and the Newport Sea Base.

The First Team Real Estate Invitational Regatta will bring together top caliber yachts, including the maxZ86s, off-shore racers over 50 feet in length and Transpac 52s. The growing list of boats currently includes America�s Challenge II, Bolt, Genuine Risk, Grand Illusion, It�s OK, Magnitude 80, Margaritaville, Pendragon IV, Pyewacket, Scout Spirit, Stark Raving Mad, Taxi Dancer and Vicki.

As the facilitating yacht clubs, Newport Harbor Yacht Club and Balboa Yacht Club will provide on-the-water race management for the regatta. First Team Real Estate is the title sponsor, playing a key role in the event preparation and sponsorship support. Silver Sponsors include Bank of America, Daily Pilot, Hewitt, and Merrill Lynch. Additional sponsorship opportunities are currently available. Event proceeds will benefit Hoag Heart and Vascular Institute.

Ellen's Record Ratified

The WSSR Council announces the ratification of a new World Record.

RECORD: Around the World, outright, non-stop, singlehanded.
Yacht: B&Q
Sailed by: Ellen MacArthur. GBR
Dates: 28th November 2004 to 7th February 2005.
Elapsed Time: 71 days 14 hours 18 minutes 33 seconds
Average speed: 12.66 kts

The previous record was held since February 2004 by Francis Joyon FRA in a time of 72d 22h 54m 22s, average speed 12.42 kts.

Note: The Round the World route is 21760 nautical miles and it is on this distance that the WSSR record average speed is based.

Linky Sailing News

Racing Farr 40 Pre Worlds Day 1. OQ leaders. Geronimo repairs. Farr 40 pre worlds

Records Orange II makes for he horn

News Dee Smith interview. Chat ups

Great Lakes Bay Harbor agreement

College Sailing Dartmouth goes south

Alinghi Update

Team Alinghi gets ready in its quest to win the next America's Cup and will be the first team to install its entire team in Valencia, Spain.

The whole team and its families will relocate, along with the current headquarters in Lausanne, to start operations on the 15 March in Valencia the host city of the 32nd America's Cup.

Two complete sailing teams
---------------------------
Alinghi has two fully equipped boats in operation. American sailor Ed Baird, one of the best match racers in the world, has joined Peter Holmberg and Jochen Schuemann as helmsmen.

Brad Butterworth, Vice-President of Alinghi, and Jochen Schuemann, Sports Director, have been responsible for selecting new sailing team members: "Since Alinghi has already qualified for the final phase, we will not benefit from competition with the challengers". Thus the need for two very strong teams.

"With two world class boats and crews, both capable of winning the America's Cup, we will be able to compete internally at the highest level." This has become even more important as Ernesto Bertarelli, Chairman of the Syndicate, has relaxed many of the competitive advantages of the Defender to allow the America's Cup to evolve into a much more popular and accessible event.

First Team to fully relocate to Valencia
----------------------------------------
Team Alinghi is currently relocating to Valencia and aims to set sail by April 4th. April is a key-month, the first for excellent sailing conditions in the area, so this will allow competitive training in similar conditions that Alinghi will encounter during the competition.

The logistics of moving almost 100 Team members and their families, approximately 350 people, is a big challenge for the Team. Patrick Magyar, Managing Director of Team Alinghi, explains why: "We have to take into account that our Team includes 17 different nationalities, and less than 10 percent of them speak Spanish. We don't just need houses, we also need kindergartens and schools, logistical support on things like insurance, health care, and of course we want the team to feel at home." Some of the other teams have feared taking this difficult step.

Testing, testing and testing again to have the best possible boat
------------------------------------------------------------------
Grant Simmer, managing Director responsible for the design and construction of the boats, is aware that the rules for the 32nd America's Cup do not allow for huge differences in boat design between the different teams. "All teams will have very good boats. During the last campaign, we had two years to build two boats and a team. For this campaign, we already have a team and two very good boats that we can further improve. We will start building our two new competition boats as late as possible to have the first one ready in 2006 and the second one in 2007. We need to do a lot more research, development and testing in Valencian waters to be sure how our changes perform. So this means testing, testing and testing again until we are very sure of what we wish to do."

Home for the team, but also for partners and Friends
----------------------------------------------------
Team Alinghi will move into a provisional Base until October of this year, when the new Base will be completed and the Team able to move into its final home. The new Alinghi Base will include an Alinghi Interactive area in which fans from around the world will be able to learn more about America's Cup sailing and Team Alinghi. Furthermore, Alinghi will offer its Friends, the Alinghi fan club, unique opportunities to access the Team's base through the Alinghi Club. Part of the facilities will also host the Alinghi Academy, offering a number of programs that will range from management seminars to coaching team interaction and physical workout possibilities. Alinghi will also offer unique opportunities to follow the team during their training sessions.

Not forgetting Switzerland
--------------------------
"In all this, Alinghi is by no means forgetting Switzerland", promises Patrick Magyar. "Throughout our relocation we will represent Switzerland in Spain, maintaining many activities in our country. In order to keep in touch with our fans we created Alinghi Friends, offering many benefits such as news updates, invitations and special merchandise. Once settled in Spain we will add interactive opportunities like Chats and Forums. Many members of our team will regularly return to Switzerland to participate in public activities".
The most current opportunities is the UBS Alinghi Swiss Tour, a new Sailing Championship crowning the Swiss National Champion 2005, with the final match race taking place at the Alinghi Base in Valencia in November 2005.

Farr 40 Pre Worlds Day 1

The Italians are dominating the leaderboard of the Rolex Farr 40 Pre-Worlds after a day's light-air racing outside Sydney Harbour, in conditions that were more Mediterranean than Pacific Ocean.

Perhaps that explained why in each of the three races, the winner's gun went to three different Italian boats, all of whom looked very at home in the flat water and light north-easterly breezes. Vincenzo Onorato helmed Mascalzone Latino to victory in Race 1, then Marco Rodolfi and TWT in Race 2, with 2003 World Champion Nerone completing the Italian job in Race 3.

All three teams put in very strong performances throughout the long day, with only local boat Team Shockwave able to match the Italians' consistency. Even then, Neville Crichton's Australian-registered boat has an Italian sponsor in Alfa Romeo, and Nerone's tactician Vasco Vascotto joked that this was good enough for them to be considered an honorary Italian team. He was also impressed by the Aussies' speed: "They were the fastest boat in those conditions today," said Vascotto. "They have the speed to win this regatta."

While the name Nerone frequently appears in conversations about potential winners of the Rolex Farr World Championships - due to take place next week - TWT is mentioned far less often. And yet it was Rodolfi's team that came out of today with the best scores, 2-1-5 compared with Nerone's 4-5-1. Vascotto said no one should be shocked to see TWT performing so well. "I am not surprised about TWT because they finished fifth in the Worlds last year. For me, they are certainly one of the ten boats that could win the Worlds this year. Their team is young in years, but old in experience."

Marco Rodolfi's young team has made rapid progress in this toughest of one-design fleets. They made their first appearance two years ago at the Worlds in Porto Cervo where they finished 23rd. A year later they had improved to a 5th in San Francisco, so it is not hard to see why they are rated as potential winners in Sydney. The most experienced man on board is tactician Tiziano Nava, who celebrated his 47th birthday yesterday.

Nava brings a wealth of knowledge to the team, gleaned from his time as tactician on the 1983 America's Cup challenger Azzurra and more recently as the winning tactician in the 2002 Melges 24 Worlds. "We have learned a lot about the Farr 40 over the past two years - the sails, the trimming, the tactics," he said. "We are very happy with today. We wanted to start near the pin end in each race because we liked the wind on the left. We made good starts in the first two races, and not so good in the last race, but luckily we had good speed."

Some other highly-fancied boats struggled to get anywhere close to TWT's consistency today. Reigning World Champion Barking Mad started the regatta with a creditable 3rd, but followed it with a lacklustre 17th. Still, considering Jim Richardson had been second to last in the 28-boat fleet at the leeward gate, 17th represented a good recovery for the American team. With a 9th in Race 3, Barking Mad's scores still give her 5th overall in these early stages of the nine-race series.

Whether or not Richard Perini and Evolution can bounce back to win the Pre-Worlds after such a poor first day is far less certain. Scores of 26-14-10 sees this top-rated Aussie boat in 19th place overall, but at least they can console themselves that this is only the appetizer to the main course, the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds, which begins next Tuesday, 1 March.

Vascotto knows it is far too early to count Evolution out of the equation. "Perini didn't do a good job today but for sure he will come back tomorrow." The fleet is scheduled to race three back-to-back races tomorrow, with more light winds forecast.

Approach to the Horn Looks Tough

Orange II is still speeding along at almost 30 knots towards Cape Horn that they should be reaching on Friday or Saturday, according to the weather conditions that lie ahead. At the end of the thirtieth day of racing, the maxi-catamaran was recorded 8500 miles from the finish. Two thirds of this round the world voyage will thus have been covered at an average speed of 23.7 knots since the start. The giant has clocked up yet another day of 650 miles, and continues to step up the pace. Orange II now has a lead of more than five days over Steve Fossett's round the world record and almost eight days over Olivier de Kersauson's position during the Jules Verne Trophy 2004. For tomorrow, the winds are forecast to be strengthening from the west to 45 knots, with gusts expected around 60 knots, according to M�t�o France. In other words, the approach to the Horn looks quite tough...

Bruno Peyron on today's radio session (23rd February) at 14h00 GMT:

Two thirds of the voyage: �Today, it's a little bit more violent than over the past few days. We are going between 29 and 33 knots. We gybed an hour ago. The rough seas are coming on the beam and that is likely to continue until The Horn. Each time the manoeuvres are a risky business, so we'll be trying to avoid doing too many. This one was planned, so we had to go ahead. The sun came up just as we were gybing. We started the manoeuvre at the end of the night, and by the time it was finished, it was daylight.

Tiredness: We've been keeping our tiredness under check since the Kerguelens. You can see that on the faces. The overall tiredness is under control. The boat's speed is altered according to the group's tiredness.

Change of watch: With each change of watch there is a quarter of an hour of worry. Regularly, there's a cock-up during the handover. Last time, we made a mistake with the windward hull, and it rose too high out of the water. In a monohull, you can feel the waves more, but here we have two things moving 20 metres apart, and it's not easy to feel the wave coming.

The albatrosses: They are behind us, but when they want, they soar ahead. They are the only perfect wind-creating machines. They can stay for hours without flapping their wings. When we arrive, they think we're a nice playground for them. Their wingspan is 3.80 metres. We've been racing against this crazy flock of birds. Now only the smaller ones are still there. The albatrosses were a threat to the clippers, because if someone fell overboard, they are like vultures.

Cape Horn: Our routes tell us we could be at the Horn seven days ahead of the record. On paper that looks likely. But that's only a forecast looking three days ahead. We may well only have a lead of six days, because of the gybes we're going to have to carry out.

Voyage: It's not a bit like the round the world voyage from 1993. The first round the world voyage was an initiation. This one is the result of a long process carried out over time. We've been aiming to find the top level of quality. Orange II is a bit like the boat you could only dream of a few years ago.

Weather: The approach to Cape Horn is likely to be quite rough. We're going to have to remain cautious and get ourselves ready for it. It's not going to be very comfortable, as the angles won't be very good. It's not the moment to go on the attack, and we're going to take things calmly. Looks like we'll be getting a ticket for speeding after the Horn around the Falklands. Last night's low-pressure area was the one we picked up just as we entered the south. The other is just ahead of us by the Horn at the moment. So we have been around the planet on one system surfing on the isobars.

Lead over Cheyenne: I know when I want to go on the attack, and when I want to turn, and I don't keep comparing with the performance of the other circumnavigations. If we have a good lead as we climb up the Atlantic, it will make things more comfortable and enable us to manage our progress a little more. We've seen since the start that there are times to manage things and times to go on the attack. During the periods of consolidation, we aren't losing any ground and when we go on the attack, we really reap the benefit.

Data

Day at sea: 31st
Date : 23/02/2005
Time (GMT) : 10h16
Latitude : 54 35.52' S
Longitude : 107 37.80' W
Instantaneous speed: 25.4 knots
Instantaneous bearing: 68
Average speed: 28.6 knots
Speed over 24h : 27.3 knots
Distance over 24h : 654 nm
Speed since the start: 23.7 knots
Total distance: 17059 nm
Remaining distance: 8500.30 nm
Lead on day 30:
- J.Verne record: +3357 nm (ahead)
- absolute record: +2548 nm (ahead)

Pyewacket Out

Just as wind conditions turned hopeful, Pyewacket's pursuit of the record in Del Rey Yacht Club's 18th biennial Corum International Yacht Race to Puerto Vallarta ended abruptly Tuesday morning because of a problem with its mast.

Navigator Stan Honey reported by satellite phone: "We had a problem with the top of the mast and we're dropping out."

Apparently, a crack in the top section of the carbon fiber rig was discovered during a routine daily inspection at 10:20 a.m. PST about 20 miles west of Cabo San Lucas at the tip of Baja California.

About an hour and a half earlier Roy Disney's maxZ86, sailing its first race on the West Coast after campaigns in the Caribbean and Europe, had reported its best day of the race---238 nautical miles at 9.9 knots.

When the problem developed conditions were even better: a following 12-knot northwest breeze that had Pyewacket flying at 15 knots under spinnaker.

With about 27 hours remaining to sail 325 miles to the finish, Pyewacket had a shot at the record of 4 days 23 hours 0 minutes 14 seconds set by the MacGregor 65 Joss in 1985.

"You never know what's out in front," Honey said, "but we had a chance."

At the time the breeze was even blowing well through the finish line in front of the Westin Hotel and Resort deep in Banderas Bay, suggesting that Pyewacket might roll all the way in.

Instead, Pyewacket dropped its sails and was motoring into Cabo San Lucas.

"The mast is still in the boat," Honey said. "We don't need any assistance at all."

Pyewacket's exit, following the voluntary withdrawal of Randall Pittman's Dubois 90, Genuine Risk, two days before the start, left the race's line honors in the grasp of Doug Baker's Magnitude 80, which was 30 miles behind Pyewacket at Tuesday morning's roll call. If the good winds continued, it was conceivable that the record could fall to the Andrews 80 from Long Beach, but it would have to finish by noon Wednesday.

Pyewacket and Magnitude 80 had passed the two closely dueling Transpac 52s---Karl Kwok's Beau Geste, Hong Kong, and Mark Jones and Dick Watts's Flash, San Francisco---that started a day earlier and were still only a mile apart after two-thirds of the 1,125-nautical mile race.

At the front of the Racing Division with 294 and 301 miles to go were the Santa Cruz 50s that started two days earlier. Kirk Wilson's Bay Wolf, San Pedro, had a seven-mile lead over Don Adams and Rick Palmer's Chicken Little, Marina del Rey.

A third S/C 50, Jack Taylor's Horizon, Dana Point, Calif., dropped out Tuesday undamaged but out of contention. Horizon sailed itself out of the race by going farther offshore Baja into lighter winds than its rivals.

But the first boat into Puerto Vallarta stood to be the Salsa Division leader, Bob and Kathy Patterson's J/46, Lark, from Marina del Rey. The Salsas started five to seven days ahead of the racers, made three stops and were allowed to motor when the winds died out.

Also, two of the Santa Cruz 50s at the front of the race---Kirk Wilson's Bay Wolf and Don Adams and Rick Palmer's Chicken Little---had found breeze closer to Cabo San Lucas and were averaging 6.5 knots.

Daily position reports, including latitude and longitude, and standings are posted at www.delreyyachtclub.org.

Corum, the title sponsor for this race, will present the owner or skipper of the overall winner in each class with a Corum Admiral's Cup Trophy 41 watch, which has a retail value of $2,195.

Corum is an independent, family owned company producing high-quality and prestigious Swiss watches since 1955. The Admiral's Cup Trophy 41, with a 41mm stainless steel case and nautical pennants instead of numerals to indicate the hours, was just introduced by Corum last year. The watch, along with the complete Corum line, may be seen at www.corum.ch

Farr 40 Pre Worlds

It was a quiet day at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in Sydney as sailors took a final opportunity to relax before the Rolex Farr 40 Pre-Worlds, which begin at 1100 hours tomorrow with three back-to-back races.

Some crews were sweating it out in the sauna this morning before the compulsory weigh-in, but all 28 teams came in under the maximum combined crew weight of 760kg. A few boats headed out from Rushcutters Bay for some of last-minute boathandling and sail testing outside Sydney Heads.

But for the majority of teams, who have been here for some weeks, it was an opportunity to get away from it all before the intensity of three days competition, in which race officer Peter 'Luigi' Reggio is planning to hold nine windward/leeward races. For Russell Coutts it was a chance to play a round of golf, before he resumes duty tomorrow as tactician on board Hasso Plattner's Morning Glory.

Although Morning Glory did not perform particularly well on the weekend in the Hamilton Island Farr 40 Australian Championship, Coutts says he is having a lot of fun getting back into the Farr 40 scene. He won the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds in 2001 as tactician on Ernesto Bertarelli's Alinghi, and he is relishing the challenge of emulating that success with a different team in Sydney.

Despite her lacklustre performance at the weekend, Morning Glory proved herself as a serious contender for the world title following her victory in Key West Race Week last month in Florida. However, Coutts acknowledges that the prevailing conditions outside Sydney Heads present some of the most challenging tests of any venue that he has experienced, "it's very choppy, you're getting a lot of backwash off the cliffs, there's the sun on the water [making it hard to see the wind on the water]. I think it's one of the trickier places I've sailed. I certainly haven't got it all worked out, but that's what makes it fun."

Adrian Stead, tactician on Vincenzo Onorato's Mascalzone Latino, says the key to winning any Farr 40 regatta is to treat each day as a mini-regatta. "If you can come top five overall in each day's racing, you stand a good chance of winning the event." To do that, of course, demands enormous consistency and with the lack of a discard in the series it places huge pressure on every team member to perform their job flawlessly.

With a light-wind forecast for the next three days, the ocean swell outside Sydney Harbour will present a significant challenge. But this regatta should prove a useful shakedown for the sailors as they move into the final phase of their build-up to the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds, which take place next week from 1-4 March.

The 2005 Rolex Farr 40 Pre-Worlds take place from 24 to 26 February.

The 2005 Rolex Farr 40 Worlds take place from 1 to 4 March.

Linky Sailing News

Racing Doha '06 leads, Cheyenne on the mend.

Records Orange II on the attack. Last years JV

News F1 Tour. Farr 40 Pre Worlds

Great Lakes Invasive Species

College Sailing Georgetown defends Bavier team race

Orange II Crosses the Pacific

While we sleep, it is broad day light on the otherside of the planet. That is precisely where the maxi-catamaran Orange II is as it continues its high speed dashacross the Pacific Ocean. The figures speak forthemselves : during this morning�s radio session at 0400 GMT, Orange II wasclocked at 32.4 knots of instantaneous speed and it is maintaining an averagespeed of 30 knots. No less than 626miles have been made over the last 24 hours, at an average of 26.1 knots...Bruno Peyron�s crew is clearly still on the attack in fairly manageable seasand a wind enabling them to make high speed in the right direction. The boat is filing along towards Cape Horn< /place> which it may reach byFriday. As a result their lead over therecord times around the world set by Steve Fossett�s crew may extend stillfurther during the 3 days which precede the passage of the legendary cape. After one more day in these latitudes on thelookout for the danger of icebergs, Orange II will begin to distance itselffrom this ice convergence zone. For thetime being the whole team is concentrated on the quest for pure speed, the keyto which may be a new record for the Southern Pacific crossing in a few daystime...

Extracts from this morning�s radio session with Bruno Peyron : �The wind and sea conditions that we are encountering at themoment are enabling us to make pure speed and continue to attack the SouthernPacific. We are well placed forward of awarm front, on the edge of the ice convergence z one, likely to begin to use arotation in the wind that will clock round in a favourable direction. We haven�t got a big swell enabling us to makelong surfs, but the seas are very manageable and the waves are such that ourgiant can easily make 33-35 knots of boat speed. We�re continuing to keep a lookout foricebergs as 3 growlers were encountered here during the Vend�e Globe and thewater is at 5� so we�re being careful... The depression that has been with ussince Australiais continuing to carry us along. Itshould follow us until the Horn and perhaps even after it as it joins up withanother depression that will climb up to the NE after the Cape. At the passage of the Horn, we maysuffer a little as the wind will clock round to the W forcing us to make a fewtacks. If all goes according to planthough, we may be able to round the Horn on Friday mornin g and get another twodays ahead of Fossett�s record time. Anyforecasts are received with caution... The boat is really running very well andits speed is even beyond the speed polars recorded this summer. I am not surprised by the fantastic potentialof this boat, but I didn�t expect to exploit it as much as we have and be ableto attack in this way. The conditions are allowing us to permanently exploitbetween 90 and 100% of the boat�s potential...�

Passing Through the Inbox

On February 5th the Qatar Philatelic Bureau issued a 4 stamp set commemorating the Oryx Quest. Pictured above is Doha 2006 the race leader.

During her round the world record Ellen Macarthur's longest sleep was 2 hours in duration. On Day 11 Ellen said she was "trying to rest as much as possible." 71 days without sleeping for more than 2 hours straight?! If that's as much rest as possible, count me out.

Ellen Macarthur's record time

Macarthur did finish under the time needed to capture the entirely hypothetical Nellie Bly award.

On her penultimate day one of Macarthur's computers suffered a hard drive failure. Macarthur installed a new drive, set up the software and was back up and running in 7 minutes! Impressive when not on the ocean.

Ellen has given her 75 foot trimaran a nickname of Moby due to the size of the center hull.

Cheyenne stamp. The stamps are valued at 50 dirhams or approximately 50 cents. Cheyenne trails in the race and her outright record is under threat from Orange II.

The Great Lakes will have a new solo race this summer. The Trans Superior will add a solo division. It is now possible for lone sailors to sail both the Port Huron and Chicago Mac courses in addition to the Trans Superior. All events are sponsored by the Great Lakes Singlehanded Society.

Although still under the influence of snow and ice plans are being made for the 2005 sailing season. Accordingly Torresen Marine has posted a 2005 Lake Michigan Sailing Calendar. You can also pick up a printed version when visiting us in Muskegon.

Daedalus is in her 3rd decade. Not as old as the USS Constellation which recently appeared on a 150th anniversary stamp!

For those who are Boat Smart readers during the Michigan boating season there is this good news: Boat Smart author Chief Tom Rau will be publishing a Boat Smart themed book 'Boat Smart Chronicles, Lake Michigan Devours its Wounded' this October. Publisher will be Seaworthy Publications.

Geronimo is the only trimaran in the race. Unfortunately her checkered career continues as she has suffered damage and is en route to Australia. FYI you need 7 of these Oryx Quest stamps to send a letter to the Geronimo crew from Qatar to Australia.

Linky Sailing News

Racing St. Pete Nood. Doha's lead solid

Records Orange II lead is + 2000 KM

News Ellen's health. Farmer Jacques

Great Lakes Chicago Maritime Festival Wreck dating to 1800's may have been found Lock maintainence

College Sailing Brown ranks # 1

Changes to Americap II for Chicago Mac

The 97th running of the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac set to start on Saturday, July 16, 2005 will be run under AMERICAP II for monohull boats. AMERICAP II has been used for the last two Mac Races and ghost scored for several prior races. The 2004 race, which began as a beat and ended as a drifter was a test for any rating system, including AMERICAP. US Sailing and your Mackinac Committee have spent considerable time and effort analyzing the 2004 race and listening to competitors. We are pleased to announce several improvements to the AMERICAP II velocity prediction program for 2005 and changes in the application of AMERICAP II to the Race.

Changes specific to the Race to Mackinac:

� The course configuration for 2005 will be selected on Friday afternoon prior to the race and announced at the skippers meeting to provide the greatest possible match of handicaps to anticipated weather. This decision will be based on the weather forecast data available at the time.

� A single number time-on-time rating for each course configuration will be provided and the handicap for the selected configuration will be used to score the Race. Elapsed time multiplied by the rating will provide corrected time. This can be done at any mark or point of the race as well as at the finish.

Changes to the AMERICAP II VPP for 2005:

� Revised aerodynamic model based on wind tunnel tests of upwind sails resulting in speed predictions that are more accurate and better assess the effect of stability on performance.

� Revised hydrodynamic model for stern overhangs based on tow tank testing of large scale models. Tests included immersion of transoms at various sailing speeds.

� Improved accuracy and speed prediction of canting keel designs.

� Improvements to the wave drag model.

� Correction of predictions of performance at very high speeds. Many modern designs are able to sail at speeds that exceed the theoretic maximums under the prior VPP.

� Improved consideration of friction drag of appendages providing for more sensitivity to the performance advantages of modern keel and rudder designs.

� IOR hydrodynamics to more accurately predict performance of older IOR designs.

� Improved treatment of heel drag.

These changes are a result of feedback from competitors in our continuing effort to improve Americap as a quantitative measurement based VPP rule. It is the belief of the Mackinac Committee that the strength of Americap lies in providing multiple handicaps for a range of course configurations that an all condition single number handicap cannot provide.

Superior Solo A Go

The Great Lakes Singlehanded Society (GLSS) constitutional revision to allow finishers of the Singlehanded Trans Superior Challenge to be admitted as GLSS members and to have present members noted for doing the Challenge was unanimously approved at our annual meeting in Chicago last weekend.

This means that now all systems are go to hold the inaugural Singlehanded Division of the Trans Superior with the start on August 6, 2005.

I have added a few more names to our list of interested parties so I will give a little background to all.

GLSS members Eric Thomas of Duluth and Dick Lapin of Rogers City came up with the idea of a singlehanded class for the Trans Superior Race. The Race committee requested GLSS advice for acceptance of entrants and specific rules for the class but did not want to be part of the selection process. As a member of the GLSS Board of Directors and a supporter of the idea I was solicited to submit the constitutional change required to sanction the event and allow recognition of the finishers. Eric, Dick and I have been working together on this for the last 10 months and will continue to do so through this year.

The Trans Superior Race will be handled by the Duluth Yacht Club, Algoma Sailing Club and the Lake Superior Yachting Association. Eric Thomas will be a member of the Trans Superior Race Committee and our direct contact with them. They will run the event, set handicaps and decide on the number of classes. They will also award flags for all the classes per their race instructions.

The singlehanded participants will be in the Singlehanded Division which may allow for more than one class depending on the number of actual entries. The GLSS Board will review all singlehanded entries and determine which skippers are allowed to enter. Following completion of the race, singlehanded skippers will submit documentation to the GLSS Board who will determine acceptance of the finish and determine additional awards and GLSS membership.

We are currently in the process of developing acceptance standards, race Instructions and entry forms. When completed and approved by the GLSS Board and the Trans Superior Race Committee they will be posted on the GLSS web site at www.solosailor.org You should also check the Trans Superior Race web site at www.transsuperior.com as they will also be updating this shortly.

Pyewacket close to Puerto Vallarta Record

Onboard banter and the fishing were the highlights of Pyewacket's day Monday as Roy Disney's wind-starved maxZ86 passed the halfway point with the clock ticking down in its quest of the record in Del Rey Yacht Club's 18th biennial Corum International Yacht Race to Puerto Vallarta.

"I wouldn't be gambling on it," Disney said by satellite phone at 4 p.m. "Until an hour ago we'd been going decently, but then it just glassed out."

Navigator Stan Honey said, "It's too close to call."

Disney said his crew's spirits were good. "We caught a yellowtail today, so he's going to be sushi tonight," Disney said. "And the gags get better as the wind gets lighter."

At the time Pyewacket was opposite Magdalena Bay, 40 miles offshore and 210 miles from Cabo San Lucas at the tip of Baja California, making about 5 knots in 3.5 knots of wind. Not even one of the fastest sailboats in the world can sail very fast in that.

Pyewacket had passed the two Transpac 52s that started the 1,125-nautical mile race a day earlier, but those boats also were struggling at average speeds of 4.8 for Mark Jones and Dick Watts' Flash and 4.7 for Karl Kwok's Beau Geste and had sailed only 116 and 112 miles in the previous 24 hours, respectively.

To beat the record of 4 days 23 hours 0 minutes 14 seconds set by the MacGregor 65 Joss in 1985, Pyewacket would have to finish 47 seconds before noon PST Wednesday. It's still possible but would require a dramatic boost in speed from the 8.3-knot average so far.

The most encouraging sign was Monday's report from the Salsa fleet that set out from Cabo San Lucas across the Gulf of California in 10-12 knots of breeze from the northwest---spinnaker conditions.

Also, two of the Santa Cruz 50s at the front of the race---Kirk Wilson's Bay Wolf and Don Adams and Rick Palmer's Chicken Little---had found breeze closer to Cabo San Lucas and were averaging 6.5 knots.

Honey said, "I'm thinking it will build to 5-12 late today or tonight."

Daily position reports, including latitude and longitude, and standings are posted at www.delreyyachtclub.org.

Corum, the title sponsor for this race, will present the owner or skipper of the overall winner in each class with a Corum Admiral's Cup Trophy 41 watch, which has a retail value of $2,195.

Corum is an independent, family owned company producing high-quality and prestigious Swiss watches since 1955. The Admiral's Cup Trophy 41, with a 41mm stainless steel case and nautical pennants instead of numerals to indicate the hours, was just introduced by Corum last year. The watch, along with the complete Corum line, may be seen at www.corum.ch

Racing Division

(Monday morning's standings by corrected handicap time; seconds-per-mile handicap ratings listed)

PHRF-AA (started Feb. 18)

1. Magnitude 80 (Andrews 80), --180, Doug Baker, Long Beach, Calif., 582 miles to go.

2. Scout Spirit (R/P 77), --120, David Janes/Jay Steinbeck, Newport Sea Base Syndicate, Newport Beach, 658.

3. Pyewacket (Reichel/Pugh maxZ86), --265, Roy E. Disney, Los Angeles, 564.

DID NOT START: Genuine Risk (Dubois 90), --274, Randall Pittman, San Diego.

PHRF-A (started Feb. 17)

1. Flash (Transpac 52), --78, Mark Jones/Dick Watts, San Francisco, 545.

2. Beau Geste (Transpac 52), --78, Karl Kwok, Hong Kong, 548.

WITHDREW: Barking Spider (MacGregor 65), --24, David Kory, Point Richmond, Calif.

PHRF-B (started Feb. 16)

1. Bay Wolf (S/C50), --3, Kirk Wilson, San Pedro, Calif., 462.

2. Chicken Little (Santa Cruz 50T), 0, Don Adams/Rick Palmer, Los Angeles, 466.

3. Horizon (S/C 50), --3, Jack Taylor, Dana Point, Calif., 520.

Salsa Division

(after Leg 1 of 3)

SPINNAKER-A

1. Lark (J/46), 45, Bob and Kathy Patterson, Los Angeles.

2. Cheyenne (Whiting 49), 75, Alan Blunt, Venice, Calif./David Fox, Santa Cruz, Calif.

3. Broadway Babe (C&C 110), 72, Jim Maslon, Marina del Rey, Calif., DNF.

WITHDREW: Masquerade (Choate 40), 72, Tim Coker, San Diego.

SPINNAKER-B

1. Green Dragon (Catalina 380), 120, Gary Green, Culver City, Calif.

2. Enchanted Lady (Roberts 55 ketch), 96, Andy Sibert, Seal Beach, Calif., DNF.

NON-SPINNAKER-A

1. Lazy Bones (Irwin 54), 99, Jeff Allen, Marina del Rey, Calif.

2. Quest (Davidson 53), 72, Scott Adam, Marina del Rey, Calif.

T3. Ginny B (Beneteau 46), 78, Mark Biddison, Boulder, Colo., DNF.

T3. Far Niente (Catalina 42), 102, Patrick Hearne, Newport Beach, Calif., DNF.

NON-SPINNAKER-B

1. Camelot (Catalina 36), 144, Hiro Funaoku, Marina del Rey, Calif.

2. Wind Dancer (Tartan 38), 120, William Solberg, Los Angeles, Calif., DNF.

Improved Anchor Shade

Taylor Made Products has announced a new, improved version of the popular AnchorShade product for 2005, based on feedback from boaters all over the world.

For starters, the major and minor structural ribs of the umbrella frame are now made of .375� diameter solid fiberglass. Strong and flexible, these ribs will take higher wind gusts without breaking. In addition, the fabric top has been converted to a �market style� configuration, allowing venting to occur without loss of sun protection.

The AnchorShade, which retails for approximately $199, is designed to provide easy-to-install protection from the sun when anchored, moored or idling on a calm day. It is also ideal for the patio or beach.

The lightweight mildew- and fade-resistant nylon top is available in six different colors. Adjustable straps with non-corrosive hardware provide mounting flexibility for a wide range of applications.

Orange II attacks on the way to Cape Horn

Orange II entered the Pacific Ocean 4 days ago and here it is almost at the midway mark. Bruno Peyron estimates a possible passage of Cape Horn from Friday 25 February, 32 days after leaving the island of Ouessant. All depends on how the crew of the giant catamaran get on with chasing the train of depressions crossing the Pacific at the same time.

Whilst evoking an ETA at Cape Horn for the 25th, Bruno Peyron remains very guarded: � I don't really believe in it as the weather files are less reliable in the Southern Pacific, but the end of day on the 25th is possible. This route is forcing us to drop down very far South and I am not sure that we are going to go there as we don't have any precise information in relation to the ice.� The ice remains an important issue aboard. Deprived of radar the skipper is ensuring that there is always one man on the lookout during the watches. With a pair of infra-red glasses, he keeps an eye out for any ice field which may threaten the honed bows of the catamaran. � This permanent watch, on the forebeam with infra-red glasses enables us to get a clear image of any icebergs and growlers as they did during the Whitbread. We're going fairly fast in relation to them though...� To reduce the risks, the crew is also surveying the water temperature. � To the South of New Zealand, there were some massive icebergs in water of 10-11 degrees. When the temperature drops to 5�C, that means we're very close...but by then it's already too late! � As a result Orange II isn't likely to continue with the train of depressions as far as these Southern limits which may cause the boat to lose a little time with regards its ETA at the tip of South America.

In any case the giant may well be able to add another record to its collection as its Pacific target is the time set by Cheyenne in 2004 with a time of 11 days 20 hours and 18 minutes. With its current averages of nearly 600 mile days, Bruno Peyron's maxi catamaran is already practically at the halfway point along the course separating Tasmania from Cape Horn. And Bruno Peyron still has every intention of attacking the record. � We are on the attack because the seas are allowing us to. We're off at 28 knots again at the moment, but it dropped to 22-24 this morning. The last depression slowed us down and further back there is quite a nasty tropical depression which is going to chase us afterwards. It has made the wind clock round and it's practically North. As a result we have wind on the beam in relation to the true wind and we're creating an apparent wind which is heading into us. We're not going very quickly, around 25 knots. It will be daybreak in an hour's time. Tonight we will ease the pace up as we open the sails a little. We won't be as heavily armoured, nor as violent, nor as flat out! �

Orange II has less than 10000 miles to go today to make Ouessant. Its average speed since the start is 23.4 knots. It is swallowing up the Pacific at 25 knots. And the boat is in perfect condition. � At the start of the course across the Pacific, we have a greater potential than at the start of the Jules Verne � adds Bruno Peyron. � The manoeuvres are well oiled. We are pushing on the boat without causing it to suffer and that will continue to improve. It's as if we have started a new competition today, two thirds of the way around the world and after a month and a half of preparation! �

Extracts from the Radio Session with Bruno Peyron

Global state of fatigue stabilised: � It has really stabilised. I was frightened when we entered into the Southern Ocean. It was good to work on it with the crew so that everyone was aware of fatigue. Everyone is at the same level of fatigue now which enables us to dose the machine at the global level of the group. �

On the homeward leg : � There are no problems with morale aboard. There is power, 'niak' and no energy problems. When you look at the dials that just gives you an extra morale boost. We have a collective understanding that we are can succeed! Sometimes we ask ourselves what we have done to deserve this and so we say to ourselves that we're not allowed to spoil it all. And the more ground we gain the more we have to make sure that we are attentive. �

The future of giant multihulls : � This boat is the fruit of ten years of work. We worked on it in 1993 when we created The Race and worked on some boats to win this race. Orange II and its 37 metres was the size we envisaged in 1994. I decided to reduce that to 33 metres for safety reasons and because we had to make three boats in the same mould. That gave us some technical data to make this new boat. I must admit that we hesitated between this version and the smaller, lighter, extreme trimaran. That is in fact a boat that will exist in a year and a half under the name of Groupama for Franck Cammas. I am waiting to see what will come of these extreme trimarans. They will be very dangerous (in terms of speed) in medium and light winds, but I am not sure if they will be faster than us in a course around the world. �

Linky Sailing News

Racing Furious 50's. Bunk maneuvering
Records 5000 KM lead for Orange II

News Farr 40 Worlds. Navigators elbow

Great Lakes Lake Express plans

College Sailing Charleston Spring

Where were you when....

Who knows how history goes. As we know Ellen Macathur has set a new solo around the world record. She crossed the finish line off Ushant at 22:29:17 GMT on Monday 7 February 2005.

I'll remember her finish for some time. For at 1834 eastern/2234 GMT I received a call from Michigan that Ellen had broken the record, while riding in a taxi in Jamaica.

Memories and good times, indeed.

Farr 40 Worlds in Australia

A number of European teams have a very serious chance of winning the 2005 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship, which starts March 1st in Sydney, Australia. Many believe that Hasso Plattner's recent signing of Russell Coutts as tactician elevates the German boat Morning Glory into the top tier of potential winners. With Coutts helping Morning Glory to victory last month at Key West Race Week in Florida, Plattner and his crew displayed their ability to remain calm in pressured situations, an essential quality for winning in a fleet as tightly contested as the Farr 40's.

Massimo Bortoletto, mainsheet trimmer on the Italian boat Nerone, certainly places Morning Glory in the top rank alongside defending champions from the USA, Jim Richardson and his Barking Mad team. But as a key figure in Massimo Mezzaroma's Nerone campaign, which won the 2003 Rolex Farr 40 Worlds in Sardinia and finished runners-up to Barking Mad last year at the 2004 Worlds in San Francisco, Bortoletto is certainly keen on winning this one for himself.

"We said that if we won in San Francisco, we would party in Sydney," he laughed. "But as that hasn't happened, we find ourselves in Sydney having to diet and having to go to bed early." The Farr 40 has a crew weight limit that requires some teams to watch what they eat and drink in the days leading up to a regatta. It doesn't always make for the happiest of sailors.

Bortoletto says dieting is not in the Italian vocabulary. "It means eating tuna fish without anything else, no wine, no beer, it is the worst. Especially to be in a place like Sydney where there is such great food." And with the lead-up regattas to the Worlds itself, the gastronomically-frustrated Italian says he and his team have been on a diet for a month.

But that aside, the Nerone crew appear to be hitting their stride in time for the Worlds, winning the Farr 40 Sprint regatta last weekend. "That was fun, hard work with five races in two days, but great fun," Bortoletto commented. Nerone heads a strong contingent of five teams from Italy, two of the others notable for having employed British tacticians with Olympic and America's Cup backgrounds.

America's Cup tactician Adrian Stead has become a regular member of Vincenzo Onorato's Mascalzone Latino team over the past couple of seasons. While they are not seen as front runners, Onorato has won world championships in other major keelboat classes and his crew are capable of stringing a good series together here in Sydney. Stead commented: "We came back from the dead last year in San Francisco. I think we finished 25th on the first day but came back to seventh by the end, and as a team we are progressing well. Vincenzo is a great helmsman and my job is made much easier by having Flavio Favini next to me on mainsheet."

Stead's former GBR Challenge colleague, Ian Walker, is calling tactics for Alessandro Barnaba's young Italian team on Fiamma. He is joined by fellow British pro sailor, Lou Varney. Walker has only been sailing with the team for four weekends on Barnaba's other Farr 40, so this team is still getting to know each other. But at least Walker has good experience on the waters where the Farr 40's will race, just outside the protection of Sydney Heads. It was on these waters that he won the Olympic silver medal in the Star keelboat, just over four years ago. "You can get a big ocean swell there, sometimes coming from behind you as you go upwind. So you can be sailing with the jib half-backing as you surf down a wave, while you go upwind."

All the sailors are anticipating challenging conditions and all believe that the old mantra of 'time on the water' will be more relevant than ever in Sydney. While no other European nation can boast the firepower of the Italian contingent, there are some other notable entries from the other side of the world. Erik Maris and his team Twins 2 sail for France, while Scandinavia is represented by Eivind Astrup's Norwegian Steam and Nanoq, helmed by HRH Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark.

Even predicting the continent, let alone the nationality, of the eventual winner of the world title is difficult. There are strong contenders from Australasia, North America and Europe, but the Rolex Farr 40 Pre-Worlds may give a better indication of the form guide when this final warm-up regatta commences on 24 February.

The 2005 Rolex Farr 40 Pre-Worlds take place from 24 to 26 February.

The 2005 Rolex Farr 40 Worlds take place from 1 to 4 March.

Conrad and Hellomoto finish 7th

20.02.05 HELLOMOTO crossed the finish line in 7th place

Arrival time: 02:34:24GMT 20.02.05
Elapsed Time: 104 days, 14 hours, 34 minutes, 24 seconds
Average theoretical speed: 9.43 knots
No. miles covered: 23,680m
HELLOMOTO position: 7th

Plymouth-based Conrad Humphreys started the Vend�e Globe solo, non-stop RTW yacht race last year at 1202GMT on Sunday November 7th from Les Sables d'Olonne, France. He was one of 4 UK based skippers who made it to the start line of the legendary Vend�e Globe race as part of a 20 strong international fleet, with his Open 60ft boat HELLOMOTO, sponsored by Motorola.

The pace of the fleet was hot right from the start and as they raced downwind in strong following winds towards the Equator and Conrad fought his way inside the Top Ten. In what was probably his only tactical error of the race, Conrad slowed up sailing between the Canary Islands whereas the rest of the fleet ahead pass to the West as they run down to the Cape Verde�s. Then, below Madeira where Conrad was set to jump up the fleet in strong winds, instead he loses precious hours getting rid of 2 spinnakers, one of which had wrapped itself around the forestay, the other around the keel after one too many sail changes and not enough sleep.

On the 9th day of racing an 8mm bolt falls from the spinnaker block at the top of the mast and lands by chance at Conrad�s feet! The first 90ft rig climb ensues at night time followed by another in daylight to replace the block but Conrad is thrown off the rig twice in big swell and strong winds. HELLOMOTO then hits the notorious �Doldrums� and endures 2 days of alternate squalls and light shifty winds but escapes. Conrad wakes up to find fellow competitor Nick Moloney on Skandia just 2 miles to leeward of HELLOMOTO and they race in sight of each other for two days.

Conrad�s first milestone was when he surpassed the number of days he had previously spent alone at sea; his record was 13 days, 20hrs in the 2,800m Transat race. Conrad had covered approx. 3,760m in the same elapsed time.

His first major setback, however, came one month into the race on 4th November in waters off Cape Town, when his boat collided with an unidentified floating object, which smashed his starboard rudder. Conrad had to dive under HELLOMOTO to replace the broken rudder in shark infested waters off South Africa in order to keep his dream alive and stay in the race. This had never been accomplished before, however Conrad managed to do this all by himself and restarted 3 days later but now last out of the 17 remaining boats in the race after spending a total of 6 days �off course� since the collision. Conrad set his targets to get back into the race and pick off his competitors one by one�

HELLOMOTO then caught the train of low pressure systems that sweep around the bottom of the world, and Conrad�s best time was had here, surfing at top speeds through the harshest and most remote waters above Antarctica, where waves reach 60ft high and the winds are over 50 knots. Unfortunately, Conrad�s generator broke down on Christmas Eve, forcing him to economise on his power supply and switch off non-essentials such as the heating, cabin lights and music, as charging the batteries takes more fuel & time with his engine. Happily, the next day he opens his Christmas presents from his wife to find some Goretex socks and a mini hot water bottle!

New Year marked another milestone, as Conrad passed the halfway stage of the race of 11,677 miles, and moved into the Top Ten again. Conrad gave himself double rations of Mumm Champagne, and he was also in good company as Ellen MacArthur raced past 20 miles below HELLOMOTO on her record-breaking trimaran �B&Q� and they had a brief chat to wish each other well. Conrad then played a bit of Russian Roulette after crossing the International Date Line as he steered a course through the iceberg minefield to make gains on the fleet ahead and spotted several �bergs - one as big as Wembley Stadium!

Despite a horrific rig climb to fix chafe on the cap shrouds at mast top height in the Pacific Ocean, plus living like a mole due to the lack of heating and lighting, Conrad �Pacman� Humphreys made a remarkable comeback and overtook 4 boats sailing underneath Australia and New Zealand. The Southern Ocean did not loosen its grip that easily as 300 miles West of Cape Horn HELLOMOTO suffered flooding in the aft compartment which nearly took out all of the boat�s electronic equipment and communications. The impact of one huge wave imploded the life raft inspection hatch and Conrad fought for 48 hours to bail tons of icy southern ocean out of the hatch. Ironically the next day he was totally becalmed before the Horn and eventually rounded very close to the infamous rock at sunset in 9th place on 19th January after 72 days & 12 hours 58 minutes, with the last third of the race up the Atlantic now left. It was nothing short of a hugely emotional moment for Conrad: �I felt like a small boy in a toy shop, I am so excited!� he reported in at the time, adding �this is a moment I want to share with the whole Motorola Ocean Racing team, everyone has worked so hard to get here.�

Conrad quickly adjusted to a different rhythm sailing upwind for the final third of the race back up the Atlantic and was intent to overtake Ocean Planet and put him into 8th. However, his trials were far from over, as 1,000m after Cape Horn, he then suffered damage to the mechanism that swings his keel, just hours after hearing about Skandia�s keel breaking away. Despite laborious hours trying to cant the keel partially and lash it in place, effectively, Conrad was to spend the next 25 days and 5,000 miles never knowing if his keel would stay intact and the mental stress of that never left him day in day out, nor did the noise it made, shaking the hull especially when going upwind in boat-breaking seas. Nevertheless, Conrad was enjoying the tactical battle with Joe Seeten on Arcelor Dunkerque up ahead, and from there on in their duel proved one of the most enthralling stories of the race. Both boats enjoyed a fast passage across the Equator, and as Conrad was only 35m behind Jo� Seeten then, it was calculated that HELLOMOTO had wiped out a 500 mile deficit since rounding Cape Horn 550m behind Arcelor Dunkerque! Conrad also made the fastest passage between Cape Horn and the Equator of 15 days, 2 hours 12 minutes � 3 hours faster than winner Vincent Riou on PRB.

The Azores High proved to be the common enemy for both boats as this system tracked North with the boats and impeded their progress to the finish. Conrad�s tactical � or technical � dilemma was either to go the same way as Joe round the west of the system in favourable winds but possibly sail slower with the keel fixed in the centreline, or beat round the other side but remain much closer to the direct route to sail less miles and be able to partially cant the keel for a less stressful ride. He opted for the latter, split from Joe and as they both rounded the Azores on either side it was so close no bets were made on who would be ahead when they converged. A pause to celebrate at last as Conrad spent his 32nd birthday rounding the Azores Islands but he could not even relish the thought of having a beer on one of the beaches, so instead read hundreds of birthday messages sent to him by his supporters.

With just 1,000 miles to go, Joe slipped back into 7th but Conrad never stopped giving it 100% to the end and sailed up to Joe�s position to try and control him, no easy feat given both skippers� boats were handicapped and at times going round in circles in the shifty light airs at the centre of the Azores High. Conrad edged back into 7th and the two boats then tacked onto a direct route to the finish line, Joe piling on the pressure for Conrad to push that little bit harder although the keel by now had lost all pressure and was shaking uncontrollably fixed on the centreline.

Finally on his approach to the Bay of Biscay, Conrad�s engine failed to start and he lost all power, which meant that Conrad had to hand steer for up to 16 hours a day all the way to the finish with Joe just 40 miles behind him and still chasing. He was therefore deprived of his communications and found it very tough to not be able to talk to his family or team so close to the finish when he wanted to let everyone know how excited he was.

After fellow British competitor Mike Golding on ECOVER finished in 3rd place, Conrad took 7th place on HELLOMOTO when he crossed the line at 02:34:24GMT on 20th February 2005, after 104 days 14 hours 32 minutes 24 seconds racing alone at sea... Conrad�s first reaction to finishing: �All I can say is that it is a complete relief, I�ve been waiting for this moment for 104 days! It�s been an epic race, and the biggest motivation was the team support, we all share in this result, I haven�t done this alone. I�ve learnt so much and will continue to do so, all these challenges I faced and the lessons learnt will I hope put me in good stead for the Vend�e Globe in 2008!�

Conrad's first reactions after crossing the line...

Q: What is your initial emotion crossing the line?

A: "One of complete relief! I've been thinking about this moment for such a long time but not letting myself get too carried away as so much can happen. It's been an epic race and I've enjoyed it, there've been lots of challenges, so this is an amazing moment!"

Q: You've completed your dream, you wanted to finish - do you feel fulfilled?

A: "Yes I do! The Vend�e Globe has been a dream of mine for a long time. I spent a lot of this race wondering whether I would actually finish it. To finish the Vend�e Globe is the big challenge, this ranks as the greatest thing I've ever done."

Q: Over the last week, you have had no power and so have had to shut down your communications. How tough has that been not being able to talk to friends and family?

A: "The power issue was a total nightmare! I couldn't communicate with my family, or my project manager, Joff, when I wanted to, which broke my routine. During this race the phone has been a vital ingredient to keep me going, and it was taken away at a time when I wanted to express how I was feeling. I was so excited being so close to the finish, not having any communication was very hard."

Q: The Vend�e Globe was a war of attrition, how did you get through it?

A: "Deep down there's something inside me that doesn't want to give up. The biggest reason not to give up was the support from my own team, especially my project manager Joff and my wife Vikki - they would not let me give up! Joff's calm sense helped me to keep it together and we should all be sharing this result, I haven't done this alone."

Q: Our final image of you before the start of this race was leaving your wife Vikki. How does it feel to see her again?

A: "Ah, well, I can only say that I've spent 104 days waiting to get to this moment! I'm speechless...I've been longing for this moment, and now I can enjoy it. I'm happy to be back in her arms again. She's been a complete rock, it was a long time to be apart... "

ARRIVAL - ACTUAL!

The finish line was 1 mile off the end of the breakwater outside the channel into Port Olona. HELLOMOTO crossed the line just after 02:30GMT, a small flotilla of support boats followed the boat in and there was a healthy sound of cheering and fog horn blowing as Conrad lit his flares above his head at the finish! His shore team and wife Vikki were immediately transferred onto the boat. Needless to say, they took some hot fresh food and a beer or two to shove into Conrad's hands!

Because of the low tide prohibiting entry to the channel at that time, HELLOMOTO stayed outside the channel on a mooring overnight and then proceeded through the channel just ahead of Arcelor Dunkerque to the pontoon at midday French time Sunday 20th February. It being Sunday afternoon, thousands of people lined both sides of the channel and flocked to the race village to welcome both the skippers. Conrad was truly overwhelmed, he had absolutely no conception of this kind of welcome!

After docking alongside the race pontoon, the Race Organisation officially welcomed Conrad ashore and gave him a bottle of Mumm Champagne to celebrate his finish in front of his family, friends, team and the media. As he has been deprived of music since Christmas Eve, the loud speakers throughout the village blaring out one of Conrad's favourite tracks: 'Beautiful Day' by U2 - as a surprise!

Then, Conrad stepped up onto the public stage at the top of the pontoon for a huge public welcome and was asked questions about his voyage which was broadcast through the loud speakers.

Conrad was then escorted to his arrival press conference in the big tent next door, and the team from the Vend�e Globe website hosted the Q&A session with French and English media.

Finally Conrad had some privacy with his family, friends and sponsors after such an immense welcome, a much deserved moment to stand still and relax with his loved ones in private after 105 days alone on a boat!

Orange II 5000 KM Up

Exactly on the fiftieth parallel! Bruno Peyron�s maxi cat has been achieving an average speed of 26 knots since Friday, clocking up 640 miles over the past 24 hours on a fine, straight course. Orange II is sticking on the separation line between the Roaring Forties and the Howling Fifties. Peyron explained yesterday that the conditions were perfect to go on the attack. It will be the third since the start. In any case, they had little choice in the matter. The winds dictate the strategy and his machine has what it takes to fulfil the requirements. Astern of the giant�s two orange hulls, the storm is raging with winds in excess of 70 knots and 13-m high waves. Ahead, they are having to glide along, as the skipper (Peyron) and navigator (Nilson) would like to stick with this flow all the way to The Horn. Yet another challenge for the wind-making machine. So they�re going on the attack. The third as Bruno explained to us last night.

�The first was decisive during the first leg of the voyage. We missed out on the second, which was quickly over, because of the rough, dangerous seas in the Indian Ocean, which lived up to its reputation. The third began during the night to the south of New Zealand, as we had been planning for three days.

We put the men and the machine back into aggressive mode. If there was a time to go on the attack, it is now. Everything has been checked, the structure, rigging, sails etc. ... it�s as if it was brand new� So we�re giving it a try... Let�s go!

For the initiated: It is not easy to find the right trajectory. Ahead of us, there are 50-knot winds and behind�a sort of monster with 70-75 knot winds. We must not make a mistake here, as we�re going to have to squeeze our way between the two for almost 4 days.

We�re sailing with one reef in the mainsail, the medium gennaker, at 140� from the wind achieving 30-33 knots. We�re therefore at the maximum limit for these sails, but not going beyond it. We carried out a minor adjustment to the leeward daggerboard to give it more grip... and the punishment was immediate. The boat flew up 30 seconds after the change. Too much daggerboard? Back to the previous setting. It was a warning, but didn�t cost us anything. Someone has to be on the sheets all the time! It can�t be left to the self-tailing winch.

A little moment of calm in this world of violence? Yes... There have been two to be precise. Firstly, an amazing sunrise, as we made our way into the real Pacific. And then some new friends this morning - a group of albatrosses with wonderful plumage. It wasn�t just one solitary bird or a few couples, but a flock of crazy birds, passing riders, probably intrigued by the speed of this new bird passing by them.

Racing against a flock of crazy birds! We�re still ahead... as they�re still behind us. It�s qui te logical really, isn�t it?�

Corum International Race Day 5

The wind is light and the seas flat, but the fishing is expected to pick up any time now in Del Rey Yacht Club's 18th biennial Corum International Yacht Race to Puerto Vallarta.

Fishing is part of the competition for the Salsa fleet, but even Roy Disney's Pyewacket, stalking the 20-year-old record for the 1,125-nautical mile race, has been trying its luck.

"We're just kind of limping along," crew member Rick Brent reported by satellite phone as the last starters approached the halfway point. "We caught a small mackerel this morning. He wasn't big enough so we let him go. Last time [in 2003] we got a nice yellowtail. We have the fixings for sushi if we get lucky."

As Brent spoke, Pyewacket was making 10.5-11 knots into a 7-knot headwind with a No. 2 jib and full main sail. Its average speed for the first 384 miles was 9.2 knots---about three-tenths of a knot less than necessary to break the record of 4 days 23 hours 0 minutes 14 seconds set by the MacGregor 65 Joss in 1985.

Doug Baker's maxi sled Magnitude 80, though rating 85 seconds a mile slower, was only 13 miles behind.

"Mag's hanging in there really well," Pyewacket watch captain Ben Mitchell said.

But the closest race was between the two Transpac 52s---Karl Kwok's Beau Geste from Hong Kong and the Mark Jones/Dick Watts Flash, San Francisco. They were dead even in latitude and longitude (photo at right) as they closed in on the three Santa Cruz 50s that started a day earlier.

Greg Daley, skipper of the escort vessel Chaos, said, "It was so cool to see these boats neck and neck after 600 miles of racing."

Daley also offered a fishing report: "We are currently trolling for tuna and dorado. No hookups yet, but we've just started. We should be at the head of the fleet [Monday] morning for roll call which is right near the entrance to Mag Bay. So after roll call, we'll watch the whales mate in Mag Bay for a few hours before proceeding to Cabo San Lucas where we hope to spend the evening.

"The weather is perfect. No clouds, no rain, about 75 degrees with calm seas. Ocean is blue. No, I mean really, really blue. Doesn't get any better than this."

Unless you're trying to set a record.

Brent said, "It sure would be nice to have a little more wind from a different direction."

That is still on its way, according to the weather forecast that calls for 12-20 knots of breeze from south/southwest Monday and 10-20 from the northwest Tuesday and Wednesday, which would be drop dead time for the record.

Pyewacket navigator Stan Honey also interpreted the weather information and said the wind "might be a little lighter than that," but it would certainly be an improvement.

Daily position reports, including latitude and longitude, and standings are posted at www.delreyyachtclub.org.

Corum, the title sponsor for this race, will present the owner or skipper of the overall winner in each class with a Corum Admiral's Cup Trophy 41 watch, which has a retail value of $2,195.

Corum is an independent, family owned company producing high-quality and prestigious Swiss watches since 1955. The Admiral's Cup Trophy 41, with a 41mm stainless steel case and nautical pennants instead of numerals to indicate the hours, was just introduced by Corum last year. The watch, along with the complete Corum line, may be seen at www.corum.ch

Racing Division

(Sunday morning's standings by corrected handicap time; seconds-per-mile handicap ratings listed)

PHRF-AA (started Feb. 18)

1. Magnitude 80 (Andrews 80), --180, Doug Baker, Long Beach, Calif., 754 miles to go.

2. Scout Spirit (R/P 77), --120, David Janes/Jay Steinbeck, Newport Sea Base Syndicate, Newport Beach, 815.

3. Pyewacket (Reichel/Pugh maxZ86), --265, Roy E. Disney, Los Angeles. 741.

DID NOT START: Genuine Risk (Dubois 90), --274, Randall Pittman, San Diego.

PHRF-A (started Feb. 17)

1. Tie between Beau Geste (Transpac 52), --78, Karl Kwok, Hong Kong, and Flash (Transpac 52), --78, Mark Jones/Dick Watts, San Francisco, 662.

WITHDREW: Barking Spider (MacGregor 65), --24, David Kory, Point Richmond, Calif.

PHRF-B (started Feb. 16)

1. Bay Wolf (S/C50), --3, Kirk Wilson, San Pedro, Calif., 617.

2. Chicken Little (Santa Cruz 50T), 0, Don Adams/Rick Palmer, Los Angeles, 621.

3. Horizon (S/C 50), --3, Jack Taylor, Dana Point, Calif., 636.

Salsa Division

(after Leg 1 of 3)

SPINNAKER-A

1. Lark (J/46), 45, Bob and Kathy Patterson, Los Angeles.

2. Cheyenne (Whiting 49), 75, Alan Blunt, Venice, Calif./David Fox, Santa Cruz, Calif.

3. Broadway Babe (C&C 110), 72, Jim Maslon, Marina del Rey, Calif., DNF.

WITHDREW: Masquerade (Choate 40), 72, Tim Coker, San Diego.

SPINNAKER-B

1. Green Dragon (Catalina 380), 120, Gary Green, Culver City, Calif.

2. Enchanted Lady (Roberts 55 ketch), 96, Andy Sibert, Seal Beach, Calif., DNF.

NON-SPINNAKER-A

1. Lazy Bones (Irwin 54), 99, Jeff Allen, Marina del Rey, Calif.

2. Quest (Davidson 53), 72, Scott Adam, Marina del Rey, Calif.

T3. Ginny B (Beneteau 46), 78, Mark Biddison, Boulder, Colo., DNF.

T3. Far Niente (Catalina 42), 102, Patrick Hearne, Newport Beach, Calif., DNF.

NON-SPINNAKER-B

1. Camelot (Catalina 36), 144, Hiro Funaoku, Marina del Rey, Calif.

2. Wind Dancer (Tartan 38), 120, William Solberg, Los Angeles, Calif., DNF.

Charleston Spring Intersectional

Charleston Spring Intersectional
College of Charleston
February 19-20
FINAL RESULTS

REGATTA HIGHLIGHTS: Saturday: Race 1A was sailed in a light north westerly at 3-5 knots.

We postponed till 1:30 when the sea breeze filled.

We completed 6 races in each division, which included gold cups and triangle windward races.

Sunday: No wind

A division = 6 Races
B division = 6 Races
A B TOT
1. UC/ Irvine 15 26 41
2. Charleston 30 27 57
3. Yale 43 29 72
4. Dartmouth 42 34 76
5. Georgetown 38 45 83
6. Brown 55 30 85
7. South Florida 42 43 85
8. South Alabama 35 52 87
9. St. Mary's 52 40 92
10. Eckerd 43 57 100
11. Florida 66 47 113
12. CGA 50 68 118
13. URI 59 69 128
14. ODU 73 80 153
15. CNU 95 83 178
16. UC/ Santa Barbara 91 87 178
17. Miami/ OH 89 102 191
18. UMBC 108 107 215

A division = 6 Races
TOT
1. UC/ Irvine 15 Frank Tybor, 07 all
Will Pochereva, 07 all
2. Charleston 30 Jamie Kimball, 06 all
Katie Lynch, 08 all
3. South Alabama 35 Karl Kleinschrodt, 06 all
Ashleigh Turner, 07 all
4. Georgetown 38 Chris Behm, 08 all
Dorothee Bergin, 05 all
5. South Florida 42 Kevin Reali, 06 all
Ashley Reynolds, 06 all
6. Dartmouth 42 W. Andrew Loe, 06 all
Adele Wilhelem 08, all
7. Yale 43 Molly Carapiet, 06 all
Jenn Hoyle, 05 all
8. Eckerd 43 Peter Stanton, 06 all
Kristen Mitchell, 05 all
9. CGA 50 Rob Gorman, 07 ALL
JJ Schock, 06 ALL
10. St. Mary's 52 Adrienne Patterson, 08 all
Maggie Lumkes, 08 all
11. Brown 55 Charles Enright, 07 all
Janelle Sing, 07 all Jennifer Bauer, 06
12. URI 59 Morgan Paxhia, 05 all
Kerry Mohoney, 05 all
13. Florida 66 Ornel Cotera 06 all
Devon Coppock 06 all
14. ODU 73 Wade Schon, 07 all
Bryan Otis, 08 all
15. Miami/ OH 89 Jocelyn Pollak, 07 all
Anne Simiele, 06 all
16. UC/ Santa Barbara 91 Hunter Williams, 06 all
Anna Brum, 08 all
17. CNU 95 Mark Newman, 07 1-2, 5-6 Will McCabe 06 3-4
Sara Hattorf, 06 1-2, 5-6 Liz Huno 08, 3-4
18. UMBC 108 Judah Brownstein, 05 all
Jessica Teunis, 06 all

B division = 6 Races
TOT
1. UC/ Irvine 26 Mike Brown, 06 ALL
Whitney Loufek, 07 ALL
2. Charleston 27 Brendan Healy, 07 all
Julia Southworth, 08 all
3. Yale 29 Zach Brown, 07 all
Sarah Himmelfarb, 06 all
4. Brown 30 Richard Hale, 06 all
Monica Stein, 07 all
5. Dartmouth 34 Ben Sampson, 08 all
Betsy Bryant, 08 all
6. St. Mary's 40 John Loe, 08 all
Jamie Frey, 05 5-6 ; Jamie Gillman, 06 1-4
7. South Florida 43 Andrew Blom, 06 all
Liz Foy, 08 all
8. Georgetown 45 Zack Kavanaugh, 08 all
Nick Deane, 06 all
9. Florida 47 Rick Korab 06 all
Travis Wright 07 1-2, Julian Cotera 08 3-6
10. South Alabama 52 Paul Kleinschrodt, 08 all
Ashley Hall, 08 all
11. Eckerd 57 DJ Driscoll, 06 all
Lauren Fisher, 07 all
12. CGA 68 Chris Greenough, 07 all
Jason Hill, 08 all
13. URI 69 Kyle Wilson, 05 all
Benedikte Vermeersc, 05 all
14. ODU 80 Fednico de la Piccate, 06 all
Tyler O'bana, 08 all
15. CNU 83 Pete Foytik, 06 all
Paula Davis, 05 all
16. UC/ Santa Barbara 87 Carson Reynolds, 06 all
Brett Bradshaw, 08 all
17. Miami/ OH 102 Nicole Finefrock, 05 all
Brian Streng, 07 all
18. UMBC 107 Jon Curtis, 06 all
Will Rhodes, 06 all

Sailing Fitness Site

A unique concept in physical training with a special emphasis on competitive sailing was launched today with the premiere of www.harrylegum.com, the web site of Annapolis Sailing Fitness, LLC. This distinctive business, created by Annapolis native Harry Legum, was developed to address the sailing community�s growing awareness of and interest in fitness and conditioning specifically tailored to the needs of racing sailors.

Top sailors such as Terry Hutchinson (Emirates Team New Zealand) and Jahn Tihansky (J/World Annapolis) are among the beneficiaries of Legum�s techniques.

Legum boasts 17 years experience in the health industry and brings a leading-edge approach to developing physical fitness for sailing. The web site explains that physical training is customized to the specific requirements of each sailor, as a synthesis of personal goals, physical characteristics, special considerations and prudent practice. The Annapolis Sailing Fitness program can also be tailored for groups and teams. Legum currently trains sailors ranging from amateur, youth, Olympic, and disabled sailors to high school sailing and professional America�s Cup athletes. He creates training programs for beginners that emphasize the basics of balance, strength, and agility and has also developed seasonal training plans for competitive sailors with particular focus on special pre- and post-race fitness training.

"In response to requests from a growing core group of recreational to elite sailors, I decided to create a web site specifically addressing sailing fitness. The feedback has been fantastic and the interest in my company, Annapolis Sailing Fitness LLC, astonishing,� says Legum. He adds �I've been told it's the first of its kind and various organizations have shown interest in networking and sponsoring ASF.�

Terry Hutchinson, 2004 Farr 40 World Champion and with the Emirates Team New Zealand America�s Cup team, is a staunch supporter of Annapolis Sailing Fitness. Hutchinson says, �The manner in which Harry approached my workout has truly inspired me to WANT to come to the gym. That has not happened before.� He continues �Harry challenges me to be a better athlete and he has directly contributed to improvement in my sailing.�

The web site will feature frequent sailing fitness tips and information applicable to sailors of all levels. For more information check out www.harrylegum.com or contact Harry Legum, Annapolis Sailing Fitness LLC, 650 Americana Drive, Suite 208, Annapolis, MD 21403. Email address is info@harrylegum.com and telephone is +1-410-570-6121.

Spring Sailing Seminars Announced

Torresen Marine, The Sailboat Specialists has announced the 2005 schedule for their popular spring seminars. Each year Torresen Marine conducts a series of free* seminars on Sunday afternoons. This year's series will kick off on March 13.

Seminars include safety at sea, Yanmar engines, Universal Engines and new for 2005 a Red Cross certified CPR session.

For more information and to reserve your seat at any or all of the seminars see the web site at www.torresen.com/seminars.

* A fee to the American Red Cross will be charged for the CPR session.

Volvo Ocean Race Update

TEAM ABN AMRO will be holding its American second boat crew selection next week. Almost 20 candidates from diverse cities in the United States such as Chicago, San Diego and New York will converge on Miami to be put through their paces by our crew selection judges.

The American crew selection begins 23 February, and you can keep track of their progress on http://www.abnamro.com/team. We will be posting photos and updates daily as the candidates get narrowed down to five finalists. The finalists will be announced on Monday, 28 February.

The American crew selection follows the Brazilian crew selection, which was completed on 28 January in Rio de Janeiro. The next crew selection will be held in Enkhuizen, the Netherlands, in March for about 20 international candidates.

The final second boat crew selection with all of the finalists will be held in March in Portugal.

TEAM ABN AMRO has been busy these past couple of weeks. On 11 February, the Volvo Ocean Race announced that Rotterdam in the Netherlands will be the next-to-last stopover for the race from 9-15 June 2006.

Swedish 'Victory Challenge' Joins 32nd America's Cup Challengers

Valencia, 18th February, 2004 � Sweden�s Victory Challenge today announced that it is the seventh team to have its challenge accepted for the 32nd America�s Cup. This marks the fifth time a Swedish team has challenged for the America�s Cup, and it is the second consecutive campaign for Victory Challenge.

The team, representing the Gamla Stans Yacht S�llskap, was accepted as a challenger by the Defending Yacht Club the Swiss Soci�t� Nautique de Gen�ve prior to the initial challenge deadline of the 17th December, 2004. It was not announced as a Challenger until today at the request of the team. Victory Challenge made its public presentation of the team on Friday in Skeppsbrokajen, Stockholm, from its home Yacht Club.

�We are very enthusiastic that Victory Challenge will be battling for the America�s Cup in our home continent of Europe�, said Christer Sal�n, Chairman of GSYC.

�We have a strong foundation on which to build from our success in Auckland and I�m looking forward to the team racing again for the first time in Valencia in June. Of course I�m also more than happy to be competing in the Louis Vuitton Acts being held in Sweden at Malm�-Sk�ne in August this year. This will be the first time the most spectacular of all regattas with its fantastic yachts will be held in Sweden.�

Victory Challenge was founded by the late Jan Stenbeck in 2001 to compete in the 31st America�s Cup in Auckland, New Zealand. Stenbeck, the syndicate head, passed away just prior to the first races of the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger series, but the team continued in his honour, with his son Hugo Stenbeck taking a leadership role on the team. It is Hugo Stenbeck who initiated this new challenge.

In the 2002 Louis Vuitton Cup, Victory Challenge sailed well, eliminating the French team, before bowing out to Prada in the q uarter-finals.

This latest incarnation of Victory Challenge should benefit tremendously from the lessons learned in that last campaign and will also be able to make use of the two boats built for the 2002 effort, SWE-63 (�rn) and SWE-73 (Orm), designed by Mani Frers, for the Louis Vuitton Acts in 2005 and 2006, as well as for a testing and training platform for the campaign.

Victory Challenge will make its debut in Valencia at the Louis Vuitton Acts 4 and 5, joining seven other official Challengers along with the Defender, the Swiss Team Alinghi.

Off Shore Challenges Update

Skandia Open 60:
After the safe arrival in Rio de Janerio on January 27th, after the loss of her keel, Skandia the Open 60 has been moored in Marina da Gloria. Nick remained in Rio, despite some challenging Immigration/Visa issues (try explaining to them that you have just sailed most of the way around the world to get there...), until boat captain John Hildebrand arrived to take over the de-masting and packing of Skandia ready for shipment back to the UK. The mast has now been removed, packed and loaded on to the deck of Skandia, and the boat has been packed and secured ready for lifting out of the water. The cradle is currently under construction, and once ready Skandia will motor from the Marina to the loading dock, where she will be lifted out of the water placed on the cradle, secured and loaded onto the ship.

Expected departure date from Rio is Thursday 24th February and it is expected to take just over two weeks to arrive in Tilbury docks near Grays in Essex, UK. From here weather permitting Skandia will be towed back to Offshore Challenges Cowes Waterfront Base on the Isle of Wight, where she will be lifted out of the water for a refit to prepare her for the 2005 IMOCA race season. Skipper and race plans for the boat will be announced in the Spring.

Sail 4 Cancer - Race Nick around the world:
The final figure for money raised on the Vend�e Sail4cancer campaign was �15,000. A particular mention must go to Andre Oszmann at Skandia for his chocolate and alcohol fast. And to New Star who made a sizeable donation. A further �3,000 was raised through international donations via the http://www.sail4cancer.org website, so a huge thank you to everyone that donated funds. Sail4cancer representative Graham Precy commented; "This event has opened up a new avenue of international donations for us across the world including USA, Australia and France, and the funds will go towards our new partnership with Gentle Adventures to get people out on the water.�

Vend�e Globe 2004/05:
While Nick takes some well earned time out in the mountains, spare a thought for the 7 skippers still at sea in the Vend�e Globe. The winner PRB skippered by Vincient Riou crossed the finish line in Les Sables d'Olonne on 2nd February 2005 completing the course in 87 days, 10 hours, 47 minutes and 55 seconds. Riou knocked 5 days, 17 hours, 9 minutes and 37 seconds of the previous course record held by the same boat skippered by Michel Desjoyeaux to victory in 4th edition of the Vend�e Globe 2000/01. BONDUELLE skippered by Jean Le Cam took 2nd place and Mike Golding took 3rd in dramatic style as he lost his keel just 52 miles from the finish line. Currently 6 skippers have completed the course and 7 skippers are still making their way to Les Sables d'Olonne. Conrad Humphreys (HELLOMOTO) and Joe Seeten (ARCELOR DUNKERQUE) are currently battling it out for 7th position and are due to arrive on Saturday 19th February. Nick, along with Project Co-ordinator Helen King, plan to be there to meet them in...

Reflections from Nick Moloney:
�I wrote a reflective piece onboard Skandia 60 in Brazil�it was to be my final Vend�e Globe log from onboard Skandia but there is just too much confusion to make sense of my feelings. Pulling away in a taxi from the harbour in Rio, I could not help but keep looking back over my shoulder through the rear window as I headed to the airport. It was bizarre to leave our boat like this, we had been through so much and our journey was not supposed to end like this.

I am not going to go on about the happenings on the day the keel broke away - that is over and no matter how much disappointment I feel, its pretty simple, our voyage ended short of our goal. Many mails of encouragement have mentioned 2008, to try again, we shall see. For now I will just be glad that we still have a boat, not a salvage on our hands and the stressful hours spent at sea worrying about a capsize are behind us.

My arrival back into the UK was a bit of a whirlwind in order to join the Royal Navy�s HMS Severn and rendezvous with Ellen for her arrival�Awesome, simply an amazing piece of history, a great day. Great also to be united again with our Offshore Challenges team, firstly in Cowes then in Falmouth, the best team!

After Ellen�s arrival I went home to France, I guess this is where things really started to sink in. As soon as I walked into my apartment, I remembered leaving. The excitement and sadness of leaving for my solo journey. Now I was home again, I was able to relax and think through the past few months. Its easy for me to ponder and think that we were �ripped off� by not finishing, the old �so close� rings through my head over and over again but we borrow our oceans for a brief period to act on our aspirations. The oceans that, with mother nature, rule our lives. Many attempt several passages across various seas for various reasons and many passages are blocked by nature. My story is one of many.

Since I have been back I have been trying to catch up with the news surrounding the Tsunami tragedy in the Indian Ocean. The closest contact I had to this whilst at sea was real alarm and concern for Mark Turner�s sister and brother in-law who were amongst the havoc, fighting for their own survival. As I spoke to Mark every few hours I was continually updated on the situation until they were finally safe, but our world at sea was not as graphical as the news feeds on land. I did not want such an event that had such impact on the world to slide beneath my hull whilst I was sailing between Australia and New Zealand. In the past few days I have re-inforced my attitude of being lucky.

Yeah, sure we have had a set back, not in our wildest dreams did we think the keel would fail, but I have experienced set backs before and they have only made me stronger and more aggressive, and yes, more appreciative of the times when it all goes right. When I left home for the Vend�e Globe start, it was the 5th time that I had left home to attempt to sail around the world, the 5th time that I felt that incredible emotion of wonder, fear and excitement, for that alone I am rich. I made the 3 Capes for the 3rd time, and for that I feel very lucky.

In the past few weeks I have had several offers to join various Volvo Ocean Race campaigns but this is not for me. Our Vend�e Project has been exciting, fun, very professional and for that I am very proud. Proud of the memory and proud of those involved. Our sponsors are friends that have discovered a new world in adventure sailing and, hopefully, a new appreciation of the simple things in life. I know for many that Christmas Day 2004 was very different for many of our followers. For some that day held extra appreciation for others, that emotion arose every time they stepped into a warm shower or slept in a dry bed. So many people sailed in the Vend�e Globe, onboard Skandia and every other boat in the fleet, our oceans have been full of positive energy and prayers. I feel a deep devotion to our sponsors and supporters. We need to find our way again, we need another project, we need to dream.

As the remaining Vend�e heroes trickle into Les Sables, this 2004-5 edition draws to a close. What an event, so unique in so many ways, I am fortunate to have experienced so much of the journey. It is actually taking me a lot longer than I ever expected to put behind me. Whilst in Brazil, I went out and had a massive sushi feast with some good friends and on the way home in the cab I wound down the window and stuck my head out to feel the wind on my face as I had had for so many days prior, but the wind was different, it smelled different, my boat noises, the noises of the wind and waves had been replaced by street sounds, my stars replaced with street lights and neon signs. I miss the sea. I miss my boat, I miss the Vendee Globe!

Orange II Half Way - Jules Verne Trophy

At this morning's check-in at 11.03 GMT, at the end of the 23rd day of racing, the crew of the maxi-catamaran Orange II crossed the halfway point in their attempt at the crewed round the world record. To be more exact, Bruno Peyron's giant had covered 12,655 miles since the start off Ushant on the 24th January and had 12,662 miles to go on the theoretical route to finish her round the world voyage. At 11.00 this morning, the crew of Orange II had kept up an average speed of 21.3 knots over the previous 24 hours (covering 511 miles). At the start of their 24th day, they had achieved an average of 22.9 knots since the start off Ushant. Their lead over the absolute record time for the crewed round the world voyage, held by Steve Fossett's maxi-catamaran Cheyenne, is still therefore 4 days. On today's radio session, the skipper of Orange II showed a little bit of disappointment about their performance over the previous 24 hours. There was some damage on board, and they just missed hitting a whale... The boat has been tackling westerly winds since yesterday with confused, potentially damaging seas, forcing her to step up the gybes, thus prolonging the route towards the southern tip of Tasmania. Tomorrow afternoon, Orange II will be making her way into the Pacific Ocean.

Extracts from today's radio session with Bruno Peyron...
Halfway point: It was a rather tricky day, as our course is not very straight. On a straight line it would represent 500 miles, but we had to cover 580 miles. These miles were really fought over in tough sailing conditions in the sort of dangerous seas we just don't like. Going along at 30-33 knots in those sea conditions, under the gennaker is no easy matter. We had some damage during the night, a block and a backstay winch exploded. Now everything is fine, we're now sailing on the right tack and gliding along more smoothly. It was a warning. You have to listen to the boat. She doesn't say a lot, but when she does, you really must listen. The waves are not that high: 5, 6, 7 metres with a heavy, but confused swell. The boat is making 30 knots, and when a wave hits us on the beam, there are 15 tonnes that slam into it first of all, then another 15 tonnes.

Whale: I'm not spending much time at the helm, but I was there, when I saw it. We were at the bottom of a surf, and I had to luff to avoid it. We think it was a killer whale, as it had a huge fin on its back and I've never seen a whale react so quickly. We were just 20 metres away from it.

State of the boat: She is intact. Anyone, who has spent any time on this type of boat, knows how much they suffer in these conditions. It's not on a structural level, but the peripheral equipment. A block that breaks can be very dangerous. A part of the block landed in the arms of a crewman, who was 20 metres away. You really have to watch out, as with this type of incident, a block could easily hit someone in the head.

The Pacific tomorrow: You never know what lies in store for the next day. In theory, we should be passing to the south of New Zealand with this flow on several zigzags. We shall be going around the iceberg zone, and afterwards we shall be tackling the Pacific. We should be starting on the Pacific in a normal flow from a decent direction, enabling us to advance in longitude without losing too much time getting around the iceberg zone. In any case, we'll do all we can to avoid the danger zone.

Surf: I've never experienced any in the Indian. The waves have a smaller amplitude here. The low pressure areas are more lively too. On the other hand, in the Pacific Ocean, ideal surfing is when there are huge waves and a huge swell with an angle of attack around 140 degrees. We can then try to surf along like on a surfboard. Orange II behaves in the same way as a surfboard above 30 knots. On the speed data, you can see we regularly go from 20 to 35 knots. If you reduce the canvas, you get stuck between the waves. It's a lot of work for the helmsman to maintain the speed, as because we create an apparent wind, that alters the direction and strength of the wind.

The noise: We haven't measured it, but we know that noise can lead to stress. That is something we really don't need. Like Formula 1 drivers, we have earplugs. However, that means we are cut off from the life of the boat, and we really like hearing the boat live, even when we're trying to get to sleep. It's a pleasant sound at some speeds, but at others, it can very quickly become unbearable.

Halley Iceberg: We're still having to do without the radar. We're trying to get as much info as possible about the position of the ice from the satellite companies. There's also the information from what the skippers spotted during the Vend�e Globe. We know there is one long wall after New Zealand. We got hold of a chart of this region that is known as Iceberg Valley around the Campbell shelf. In 1920, some icebergs found their way up between the two islands of New Zealand. The reason why there is so much ice at this latitude this year is because an enormous block of ice broke off from Antarctica three years ago. Some pieces are as large as Corsica. Some can be found in sea temperatures of 7-8�C.

Data:
Day at sea: 24th Date : 16/02/2005 Time (GMT) : 11h08 Latitude : 52 31.60' S Longitude : 136 13.80' E Recorded speed: 19.4 knots Recorded bearing: 58 Average speed: 25.6 knots Speed over 24h : 21.3 knots Distance over 24h : 511 nm Speed since the start: 22.9 knots Total distance: 12655 nm Remaining distance: 12662.90 nm

Lead on day 23 : - J.Verne record: +2064 nm (ahead) - absolute record: +2084 nm (ahead)

Chicago Hosts Maritime Festival

The Chicago Maritime Festival begins Saturday, February 26, 2005, at the Chicago Historical Society, 1601 N Clark St in Chicago. The schedule of events is now online at:

http://www.chicagomaritimefestival.org

The Festival has two distinct segments:
1. The Evening Concert begins at 7:00 p.m., and it's a tremendous lineup!!

2. Daytime Seminars and music workshops begin at 10:00 a.m., and continue until 4:15 p.m. These daytime events are very popular, plan to make a day of it.

Don't miss these seminars!!

Presenters include:
~ Video presentations by WBBM Chopper 2 reporter Kris Habermehl
~ Geoffrey Baer of WTTW on making a video of the Mackinaw Race
~ Chet Childs of the Chicago Underwater Archaeological Society
~ Authors Cris Kohl & Joan Forsberg on shipwrecks and lore

Additional presentations will include the subject of model boats; marine art; lighthouses; weather forecasting; maritime museums from the region; environmental education; Chicago history and more.

Music includes:
William Pint & Felecia Dale, (Waterbug recording artists, from Seattle WA). Great harmonies, guitar, mandolin, whistles, hurdy gurdy. Engaging and fun, we can't wait to see and hear them again.

Talitha MacKenzie, from Edinburgh, Scotland. She is a former tall ship shantyman, and founder of the legendary world music group Mouth Music.

Tom & Chris Kastle, well known in Chicago as maritime singers and sailors and storytellers, they also deserve special thanks as the organizers of this amazing festival. When you see them, tell them thanks for lining up all these great seminars and singers.

Serre l'Ecoute, a trio residing in Quebec and Chicago (and sometimes Paris). They'll be tracing the link between the maritime traditions of France and the Great Lakes. a capella as well as accompaniment on flute, violin, pieds, guimbardes, triangle and piano.

Lee Murdock, making folk music for the modern era, from the days of sail to the present day, with commercial steamer and sail traffic sharing the freshwater highways and songs of the Great Lakes

Also including shanty singers David HB Drake; The Friends Goodwill Singers from South Haven, Michigan; Bounding Main (from Milwaukee/Chicago); The Old Town School of Folk Music Sea Music Class; and the Sheridan Shore Shanty Singers.

Ticket prices: $20.00 for the evening concert.
Daytime Seminars: $8.00 adults/ $4.00 children.
Evening Concert (7:00 p.m.): $20.00
Daytime/Evening all-day pass: $25.00

(Tickets available online at:
http://www.chicagomaritimefestival.org)

Saturday, February 26, 2005 10:00 a.m. - 4:15 p.m. seminars/workshops;
Saturday, February 26, 2005 7:00 p.m. concert

Festival del Mar To Celebrate Santander 250th Anniversary

The city of Santander, Spain, will celebrate its 250th anniversary next year. To create a centre-piece for the celebrations in this famous maritime community, the City Council has reached an agreement with Sail Training International to run a Tall Ships' Race to Santander and assist in the development of a Maritime and Tall Ships Festival.

The �Festival del Mar Santander 2005' will take place 8-11 September. The Race, to be called �The Santander Tall Ships Regatta 2005', will start from south west Britain or north west France about a week earlier.

�The Festival will be a major part of our 250th anniversary celebrations, and we hope this will be the first of a regular cycle of Maritime and Tall Ships Festivals, perhaps every four or five years, preceded by a Tall Ships' Race from northern Europe ,� says Gonzalo Pi�eiro Garc�a - Lago , Mayor of Santander. �The City is already planning a wide range of events and festivities to attract the fleet and the general public to the Festival next September. We have also committed to find and help fund at least 200 trainee crew to sail in �The Santander Tall Ships' Regatta 2005'. We are very pleased to be working with Sail Training International on this to make it a great success.�

�We don't have much time to put this together;� says Nigel Rowe, Chairman of Sail Training International. �But the city and port of Santander are very supportive, and the fact that this may be the beginning of a regular series of events is an added incentive to pull out all the stops to make it a success. Negotiations with potential start ports are going well and we expect to be able to make an announcement on this fairly early in the New Year.�

Sail Training International is a registered Charity (not for profit organization). Its purpose is the education and development of young people of all nationalities, religions and social backgrounds through sail training worldwide. The Founding Members of Sail Training International are the national/representative sail training organizations of Australia, Belgium, Bermuda, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, UK and USA.

Sail Training Convention Comes to Great Lakes

The Bay City Doubletree's nautical-themed decor will come in handy later this year when the hotel and conference center will host the American Sail Training Association's annual convention.

"The opportunity to host the ASTA annual convention in Bay City is an incredible opportunity for our community," said Shirley Roberts, executive director of the Bay Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.

"It certainly puts us in very good company with communities like Newport, R.I., Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago and even Toronto and Vancouver, British Columbia," cities that previously have hosted the convention, Roberts said.

About 200-250 people are expected to attend the conference, scheduled for Nov. 3 and 4. But attendees likely will begin arriving Nov. 2 and some will stay for a ship safety program on Nov. 5, Roberts said.

A relationship between the Bay Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and the national sailing association started about seven or eight years ago, Roberts said, when the local nonprofit group BaySail was formed and plans took shape to buy the first Appledore schooner.

Since then, the bureau has fostered that relationship by attending the sailing association's annual convention and by sharing information on development in Bay City, including the Doubletree hotel and conference center.

Bay City also was a host city for the 2001 and 2003 Tall Ships Challenge, which is coordinated by the association. Bay City will play host again in 2006.

"One thing led to another, and we're real excited to welcome them to our community in November," Roberts said.

Peter Mello, executive director of the American Sail Training Association, said members got to know Bay City through its role as a host for its Tall Ships event.

"We've always very much enjoyed working with Shirley and all the people involved in organizing the (Tall Ships) event," Mello said. "We'd like to bring our conference to a city that has a strong sail training member like BaySail."

The association also likes to hold its annual convention in a city that will be on the Tall Ships Challenge race circuit the following year, Mello said.

All those factors came together in choosing Bay City as the convention site, Mello said.

According to its Web site, www.sailtraining.org, the American Sail Training Association focuses on education, leadership development and preservation of North America's maritime heritage.

The nonprofit organization offers scholarships and grants to make sail training more affordable for young people and to help member vessels with the costs of professional development and licensing requirements.

Warmer Weather Brings Ice Rescue

Unseasonably warm weather in the Great Lakes has contributed to dangerous ice conditions. On Lake St. Clair, near Detroit, Two men were rescued on Tuesday when Coast Guard Air Station Detroit hoisted them to safety. The men were being stranded several hours on an ice flow in Mitchell's Bay of Lake St. Clair.

The Rescue Coordination Center in Trenton, Canada, requested U.S. Coast Guard assistance around 7:50 p.m. A rescue helicopter was dispatched.

William Davis and Craig Gidisas, both U.S. citizens from Michigan, were taken to safety approximately an hour and a half later. They were transported to Mt. Clemons General Hospital, where they were treated for mild hypothermia.

The Ninth District Coast Guard Command Center was on the phone with the two men at the time of the rescue.

Fishermen and other adventurers are cautioned that ice travel can always be dangerous. The warming weather of the season can make the dangers even more dramatic.

First Team Regatta Brings Big Boats to Shore

The rare sight of big, fast sailboats racing off Newport Beach is in store for the First Team Real Estate Invitational Regatta May 19-22, featuring high-powered racers such as Roy Disney's Pyewacket, Randall Pittman's Genuine Risk and a cadre of Transpac 52s.

Big sailboats racing off Newport Beach traditionally has been limited to watching them disappear over the horizon after starting a race to Mexico. This regatta will have three days of racing around buoys on a course set close to shore. As many as 20 entries are anticipated.

The Newport Harbor (NHYC) and Balboa (BYC) Yacht Clubs are combining resources to manage the event. Proceeds will benefit Hoag Heart and Vascular Institute.

Organizers plan an ongoing biennial event scheduled between the Newport to Ensenada Race in April and the Transpacific Yacht Race to Hawaii in July. The inaugural event will feature a range of high-tech racers from 1D48s up to Disney's maxZ86, with ULDB 70s, Neil Barth's Volvo 60, America's Challenge and various 50-footers in between. Crews will range in number from 12 to 23 people.

Other early entries include Doug Baker's Andrews 80 maxi sled, Magnitude 80, and Ed McDowell's Santa Cruz 70, Grand Illusion, overall winner of Transpac 1999. Baker said he hasn't had many opportunities to race Magnitude 80 around buoys.

"We did some in Mexico [after a distance race there]," he said. "Buoy racing is fun, and they're going to have a good fleet. It's getting better on the West Coast."

The TP52s, the world's fastest growing one-design big boat class, are expected to have three entries: Fred Detwiler's Trader, Charles Burnett's Braveheart and Mark Jones's Flash. The latter, called J-Bird III under previous ownership, became the new class's breakthrough boat in 2001 when it was first to finish in Division 2 of the Transpac, well ahead of several ULDB 70 "sleds."

Tom Pollack, a local businessman and executive director of the TP52 class, said, "This is the biggest big boat regatta they've had in Newport in many years. It's a great event. It puts Newport Beach back on the map for big boat racing and will help build the TP52 fleet on the West Coast."

Social activities are planned utilizing some of Newport Beach�s finest facilities, including an opening dinner at BYC on Thursday night, May 19, and an awards celebration at NHYC on Sunday night.

Races will be held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Friday�s races will provide sponsors and their guests an opportunity to experience the action on board race boats in a competitive format.

First Team President Cameron Merage said, "Newport Beach is the ideal host site for an international regatta. Our entire company is delighted to lend our name and support to this exciting event on behalf of Hoag Hospital and the community."

Jim Madden, co-chair with Jay Swigart, said, "This collaboration has the power to generate immense benefits. Through the support of sponsors and the efforts of the competitors, the real winner of the event will be the patients of Hoag Hospital."

Early entries:
America's Challenge (Volvo 60), Neil Barth, Newport Beach.
Bolt (Nelson/Marek 55), Craig Reynolds, Newport Beach.
Genuine Risk (Dubois 90), Randall Pittman, San Diego.
Grand Illusion (Santa Cruz 70), Ed McDowell, Lahaina, H.I.
Magnitude 80 (Andrews 80), Doug Baker, Long Beach, Calif.
Margaritaville (Andrews 52), Jay Steinbeck, Los Angeles.
Pyewacket (Reichel/Pugh maxZ86), Roy E. Disney, Los Angeles.
Scout Spirit (Reichel/Pugh 77), David Janes, Newport Sea Base Syndicate, Newport Beach.
Stark Raving Mad (J/145), Jim Madden, Newport Beach.
Taxi Dancer (Mull 68), Paul Sharp, Newport Beach.
Vicki (Andrews 68), Al and Vicki Schultz, Long Beach, Calif.

New Records In Sight At Cape Leeuwin

After having sailed to the E-NE, the Orange II giant cat now glides along, on a E-SE heading, towards the southern tip of Australia, and more precisely the cape Leeuwin, which should be 'rounded' tonight. Over the past 24 hours, the crew has been averaging 24,7 knots, with almost 600 miles covered. This morning at 11:00, Bruno Peyron and his men were more than 4 days ahead of the current record, held by Steve Fossett and Cheyenne.

The Indian Ocean was 'swallowed' in a week - two new records await at Leeuwin:
In order to beat the historical record of the Indian Ocean, between the cape of Good Hope and the cape Leeuwin, Orange II must cross the longitude of the latter (115�08E) before tomorrow morning, Tuesday 15, 05:55'05'' GMT. If this was the case, Bruno and his crew would steal the benchmark time from... Lo�ck Peyron, who during The Race in 2001 crossed in 7 days, 14 hours, 30 minutes and 5 seconds. Orange should also beat the Ushant - Leeuwin record, held by Steve Fossett (25 days, 14 hours and 8 minutes - established in 2003).

Bruno Peyron (excerpts from the audio chat session): Week-end wrap-up: "We decided to alter our course after the North of the Kerguelen Islands, in order to avoid the wide patches of Kelp, this giant seaweed found in the North and NW of the archipelago. After that, as planned, we started to pick up speed with the cold front. We kept the same wind angle until today, and gybed roughly 5 to 6 hours ago, in order to keep sailing parallel to the convergence line. This tack will lead us all the way to Tasmania. The wind is unsettled, and we've had trouble steering at night, due to the messy sea state. We had to ease off and to let the speed drop to around 20 knots during the night, it was the safe choice. We still have a 4-day lead, and the weather for the days to come is satisfactory. We stopped in a 'wind hole' to perform a sail change. We just re-hoisted some canvas, and now there's 20 knots blowing... It's a bit weaker than initially predicted, but the good news is that the angle is favourable. Our route is thus more direct, but we're also a bit slower than we thought we'd be.

The right time to step on the gas pedal... "It's always the right time, since nothing keeps us from doing it. There's no ice, no choppy seas... It does not seem to be necessary to slow down, and we have to keep the pace in order to stay with that specific weather system. Yet we're a bit worried right now: it's crazy, but aboard this boat, we're so used to high speeds that it seems slow when we're doing 20 knots".

Cap Leeuwin ahead:"I think that if the wind doesn't drop, we can get there in 9 to 12 hours, which would give us a 6-hour advantage over the record. If things work out, we'll catch 2 new records! The conditions should allow us to take the WSSRC Indian record in Tasmania (Editor's note: the WSSRC has issued new rules stating that the record of the Indian Ocean is set between Cape Agulhas and the southern tip of Tasmania - the official boundaries of this ocean). The record between Good Hope and Leeuwin is a traditional one, because historically cape-to-cape records have always existed (but technically speaking, it was not exactly the same thing as the Indian Ocean record).

How to pick a crew..."I do just like Bernard Laporte (in charge of the selections for the French national rugby team), the guys have to be combat-ready, and have to respect their adversary. I'm more sensible to human values than to a shining CV. Of course, skills are required, but when you take a look at where my companions come from, there's no doubt left..."

30 to 40-year olds, the majority... "It's no coincidence. The more experience you have, the better you get. I'm not talking about physical capabilities here. This year, Nicolas De Castro is the youngest guy aboard... Last time, it was S�bastien Josse, who just did great in the Vend�e Globe. Nicolas is a master craftsman, he usually sails with Michel Desjoyeaux... It's no coincidence if people like that end up with us".

Arcelor Dunkerque v. Hellomoto Duel

At the entry into the Bay of Biscay, the duel between Jo� Seeten (Arcelor Dunkerque) and Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto) is shaping up to be like a remake of the amazing finish by Vincent Riou and Jean Le Cam back on 2nd February. The scenario is very much the same in any case. The duo have the same North South separation, the French skipper 190 mile further North, the same high pressure conditions forcing the Dunkirk skipper to flirt close to the centre in search of a similar N�ly wind shift� the British sailor on the chase behind is a touch further East as they head for Les Sables d�Olonne. Jo�s lead has shrunk overnight to 21.5 miles and Conrad is still benefiting from more pressure than his adversary. Once again it�s the movement of the anticyclone which is the referee of the duel. Arcelor Dunkerque, like PRB 10 days earlier, may be able to make the winning tack towards the finish in a N�ly wind, whilst Conrad may be able to push his Hellomoto quicker into the East as Jo� is slowed in the calms from the anticyclone.

Bruce Schwab (Ocean Planet) is continuing along valiantly on his rather unorthodox E'ly rounding of the depression off the Canaries. He is gradually curving northwards towards the archipelago, finally reaping the rewards of downwind conditions. After some 22000 miles of racing, the American can no longer bear to make his boat suffer upwind. Prepared to stretch out his route, he is tracking down the gentler points of sail and more favourable seas to get his boat safely back to Les Sables d�Olonne and become the first American to be ranked in a Vend�e Globe. At around 0200 GMT this morning Anne Liardet (Roxy) made her entrance into the Northern hemisphere after 99 days at sea. At 32 degrees of longitude West, Anne is hunting down the shortest course for crossing the Doldrums. Rapha�l Dinelli (Akena Verandas) and Karen Leibovici (Benefic) are continuing close-hauled up the coast of Brazil. Rapha�l is 330 miles East of Salvador de Bahia and Karen is 340 miles SE of the city, an area she knows from the Mini Transat 2001. Translation Kate Jennings

Under the 1,000 Mile Barrier

~ HELLOMOTO is 700m from Cape Finisterre with 1,000 miles to the finish�7th place has been currently relinquished to Arcelor-Dunkerque, Conrad has had to sail with safety rather than speed in mind to get to the finish, but it�s still close with under 40 miles between both boats!
~ Conrad was overwhelmed by the hundreds of birthday messages sent to him, as yesterday was otherwise not a good sailing day, so these really boosted his morale..
~ Conrad�s latest introspective diary is online, he talks about the mental stresses of the race�

Conrad Humphreys interview from onboard HELLOMOTO this morning courtesy of Geolink/Iridium:
�I think that the next 12 hours should see the winds drop below 20 knots as we move towards the high pressure and then it becomes much more manageable. The sea state has always been a problem and it�s been like it for 4,000 miles now. It was part of my game plan to avoid the worst of the conditions so this is working out. Just last night was so noisy and so loud and because I was very tired I couldn�t sleep, it was quite stressful. Obviously the first thing is to get the boat safely back to Les Sables d�Olonne and if it means losing a few miles to Jo� then so be it. It�s just one of those things. I couldn�t see myself pushing the boat hard.

�Yesterday was a bit of a hard day really considering it was my birthday. I thought I had tacked clear of the islands off the Azores but I got really headed and ended up sailing back into the Azores. I was in a bit of a catch 22 situation as it had taken me a couple of hours to move all the kit to tack and to get the keel lashed and re-stabilised. The wind wasn�t forecast to head me so much and I ended up sailing 50-60 miles in a NW direction and I lost quite a few miles. It�s just always hard when you lose miles to the competition but my first priority is to get back safely to Les Sables D�Olonne.

�It was so far the greatest birthday I have had though as I wasn�t expecting it but I got hundreds of messages and burnt a lot of fuel to read them all. I couldn�t stop reading them to be honest! I just can�t believe it. It�s more birthday messages than I have had rolled up on all my birthdays put together so thank you very much to everyone there! Great timing too, as I had no favours on my birthday. We lost the rugby, and I was sailing on such a bad wind angle, plus a reefing line chafed and we got through another mainsheet. But I�m so pleased for Jean-Pierre to know that he finished, I think between the two of us he has had the tougher race, I hope he�ll hang around long enough to see me in!�

Vend�e Globe 2005 Podium
1. PRB / Vincent Riou : Arrived on 02/02/2005 at 22:49:55, in 87 days, 10 hrs, 47 mins, 55 secs, at an average boat speed of 11.28 knots
2. Bonduelle / Jean Le Cam : Arrived on 03/02/2005 at 05:22:08, in 87 days, 17 hrs, 20 mins, 8 secs, at an average boat speed of 11.25 knots
3. Ecover / Mike Golding : Arrived on 04/02/05 at 03:17:13, in 88 days, 15 hrs, 15 mins, 13 secs, at an average boat speed of 11.13 knots

Miami Race Week 2005 Preview

The line up is impressive. Excitement is building. Great racing is assured. Big boats and sporty one designs - Floridians, Canadians, and Californians - Swan 45s, Transpac 52s and Etchells. They'll all be in South Beach next month when Acura Miami Race Week 2005 kicks off.

Entries have already topped 130 - more than doubling last year's 59-boat SORC fleet. Following a short hiatus, the returning Mumm 30, Melges 24 and Etchells classes will deliver top-tier one design racing to Miami.

There will be no shortage of world-class talent in South Beach with names such as Butterworth, Melges, Fogh, Larson, Cutler, Dodson, Stead, Bertrand, Haines, and many more spread throughout the Ocean and Biscayne Bay fleets.

January's Key West competition was fierce and Miami is going to see some great rematches. Key West 2004 Boat of the Week winner Peter DeRidder (Mean Machine - Monaco), multiple class winner George Andreadis (Atalanti - Greece) and Wolfgang Schaefer (Struntje Light - Germany) were all at the top of the Key West 2005 Farr 40 fleet. They'll be gunning for gold off South Beach and the new Florida Grand Prix Award presented to the combined winner of Premiere Racing's Key West and Miami regattas. The Melges 24, Transpac 52, J/105 and Mumm 30 classes will also crown combined regatta champions.

Transpac 52s are all the buzz lately and when Michael Brennan heard Premiere Racing was taking over management of the annual winter regatta held off Miami, he didn't hesitate to register his TP52 Sjambok. "That was a very important aspect of my decision-making because I know Premiere organizes great regattas," said Brennan, an Annapolis resident. "I think Premiere brings immediate credibility to the event. Sailors want good racing, and Peter Craig and his people provide it."

Craig Speck's Swan 45 (VIM - Newport, RI) will challenge William Douglass (Goombay Smash - also Newport, RI) and Massimo Ferragamo (Bellicosa - New York, NY). They finished 2,3 and 4 at Key West in their 2004 debut. "Miami has the potential to become a big-time event just like Key West", said Speck.

J/105s set a Key West record with 40 boats on the line - and in Miami next month their numbers will be impressive with as many as 20 of these popular boats doubling their 2004 turnout. Look for Key West 2005 champion Tom Coates (Masquerade - San Francisco, CA) and Key West 2004 champions Richard Bergmann and Shawn Bennett (Zuni Bear - San Diego, CA) to continue their good-natured rivalry. Include boats from Canada, Bermuda and at least 10 different US states and you've got an exciting J/Boat competition brewing.

Racing on the Ocean venue will feature 4 one design classes (Transpac 52, Farr 40, J/105 and Mumm 30), and as many as 4 PHRF handicap classes on two separate divisions run by Principal Race Officers Ken Legler and Tom Duggan.

Handicap racing on the ocean courses is for boats with handicaps of 100 or less. The big boat in the fleet is Dan Meyers' CM60 Numbers with Alinghi's Brad Butterworth showing the way. Key West 2005's PHRF Boat of the Week returns with a new owner and new name (Melges 32 Dawn Raid - Oscar Strugstad). The Key West J/120 class winner George Petrides (Avra) will mix it up with Othmar von Blumencorn's Beneteau 40.7 Dame Blanch (2nd in PHRF 4).

Back by popular demand is racing on Biscayne Bay with 4 classes - Melges 24, Etchells, J/24 and a small-boat PHRF class (100-140 handicappers). Over 25 Melges 24 teams from the UK, Germany and all points of the US compass will race under the watchful eye of PRO Dave Brennan and his crackerjack Miami-based team. Nearly 30 Etchells will pick up where they left off during the recently completed Jaguar series. Local racers and world travelers will have the Etchells and other Biscayne Bay classes hopping. Racing for this 60+ boat fleet starts on Friday, March 11.

Race dates for Acura Miami Race Week 2005 are March 10-13. Acura is the Title Sponsor. This is the fifth consecutive year that Acura, the luxury division of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. has been the title sponsor for the Miami Beach based regatta.

The event, founded over 60 years ago, was previously known as the SORC. The founding yacht clubs discontinued their management of the event and reached an agreement with Key West event organizer Premiere Racing to produce a new event that will continue the tradition of great racing in this popular South Florida venue. Premiere Racing is committed to producing an event that will restore the luster and loyalty that was the hallmark of this storied regatta.

Peter Craig's organization is best known for its management of the highly regarded Key West Race Week, now in its 18th year. "Boat owners, sponsors, and the sailing industry have come to expect top quality at our events," said Craig. "We intend to apply all that we have learned and experienced to make Acura Miami Race Week an equally outstanding event."

Racing in Sicily will close the '05 America's Cup Season

Trapani, a picturesque city on the western tip of Sicily, Italy will be the venue for the Trapani Louis Vuitton Acts 8 & 9. The back-to-back events, beginning late in September this year and featuring Match and Fleet Racing will conclude the racing season for the America�s Cup in 2005. Four other Louis Vuitton Acts this year in Valencia, Spain and Malm�-Sk�ne, in Sweden, will precede the action in Trapani.

As with other venues used for the 32nd America�s Cup, Trapani is able to accommodate the fleet close to the race course, provide reliable sailing conditions, and enable the public to get close to the action, both ashore and afloat. Trapani�s race courses have the added attraction of the beautiful Egadi Islands as a stunning backdrop.

�The 32nd America�s Cup is not bound by convention,� said Michel Bonnefous, the CEO of the America�s Cup organisers. � The America�s Cup is unique and innovative, and so is this venue. Trapani has the kind of qualities we need to stage a spectacular event in abundance: the wind and sailing conditions are great, there is plenty of waterfront space integrated right into the city, and with two Italian challengers, local interest in the event is extremely high. The race course area is among the most beautiful maritime settings in the world. I know this is going to be a hugely popular event.�

The America�s Cup organisers reached the agreement to bring the America�s Cup to Trapani with the collaboration of the Italian government, and the support of the Sicilian regional government.

The Trapani Louis Vuitton Act 8, a Match Racing regatta begins on the 29th of September, 2005. Act 9, a three-day Fleet Racing event, follows immediately, with racing scheduled to start on the 7th of October, 2005. The 2005 America�s Cup Class season champion will be crowned following the two Trapani competitions.

With the two Louis Vuitton Acts in Trapani, the America�s Cup will have travelled across Northern and Southern Europe to three venues, in addition to its host city in Valencia, Spain in 2004 and 2005.

Global Challenge - Leg 3 - Finished

Leg 3 of the Global Challenge was won in spectacular style today by Sydney skipper Andy Forbes who led his team home to a triumphant victory by crossing the finish at the Sydney Opera House in a time of 7 days, 2 hours, 11 minutes and 4 seconds.

Just 15 minutes and 20 seconds behind them were SAIC La Jolla � their first podium place � and Me to You an agonising 6 minutes and 20 seconds behind them. This was also Me to You�s first podium place, and the results mean the overall title is still open to much of the fleet.

Pindar, who have suffered a disappointing first two legs crossed the finish line exuberant in 4th place just 2 minutes and 4 seconds in front of BP Explorer. 6th place went to Samsung, Spirit of Sark in 7th, Team Stelmar in 8th, Barclays Adventurer taking 9th, VAIO 10th, Team Save the Children in 11th and 12th was Imagine It. Done.

A brave southerly gamble paid off for winning skipper, Andy Forbes, who explained: �There was a lot of work behind the scenes in Wellington. We had a plan; we had a strategy and we stuck to it. We were drawn in to one-to-ones with a number of the fleet, BP Explorer being one of them, but to be in 11th place 36 hours ago and to pull it off was awesome.

�There were times we felt nervous but we saw the wind south and to be honest we were surprised that more boats weren�t down there. Last night these guys trimmed - we had guys on the bow and it was blowing 30 knots but they sat up there with torches all night.

�It�s indescribable, unbelievable, fantastic and something I�ve dreamed of doing for so long.�

On a sunny summer day in Sydney a huge spectator fleet welcomed the teams to Australia. The atmosphere was electric as crowds packed the pontoons in Darling Harbour to welcome their heroes in and crews cheered each other as they pulled in one after another to the guest pontoon, which will be home to the yachts for the next 2 weeks.

Sir Chay Blyth, executive chairman of race organisers Challenge Business and the inspiration behind the Global Challenge, was there to crack open the champagne for every yacht as the team songs blasted while the yachts sailed proudly in, against the backdrop of the magnificent Sydney skyline.

Next stop Cape Town, but for now two weeks of celebration, rest, recuperation and a justified sense of pride for the 12 teams that have now sailed half-way round the world.

Quotes from the boats:
Eero Lehtinen, SAIC La Jolla � 2nd
�It was a difficult leg tactically. All the time you had to be on the ball and when you felt like you had it you were already loosing it again so you�d have to go for the second plan and then a new plan. We needed this and we�ll be back on the podium again!�

James Allen, Me to You � 2nd
�It was awesome. The crew have wanted this since the start. It�s been a tough first two legs but they�ve worked really hard and they deserve it. They know how to sail the boat and they know how to make it go fast. I can stand back and just watch it happen. They just didn�t stop.�

Loz Marriott, Pindar � 4th
�It was amazing. In the last 48 hours I had him (David Melville, BP Explorer) in my sights, just off my starboard quarter. It�s just been non-stop. It�s one of the most amazing things that�s ever happened.

�When we came into Sydney Harbour they must have been a mile behind us and they caught up. Coming round the last mark as we turned towards the finish line he popped his spinnaker up and I didn�t have my spinnaker ready. We were drifting towards the finish line with him closing on us. He was closing in so quickly and it was amazing crew work which enabled us to get over the finish line in 4th place.

�Coming into Sydney was one of the most emotional moments I�ve ever had.�

David Melville, BP Explorer � 5th
�Disappointed and frustrated as well because right until the end I thought we sailed the boat quite well. We had the flanker up and came powering along. Another 500 metres and we would have caught them. That�s sailing.

�I thought we were going to get 2nd place but last night we got hosed up by some current that was out there � really washed up backwards and we ended up fifth. The damage was really one last night.

�The pressure is on. When we come 4th or 5th that�s not good. For other boats that�s great but not us, but we�re still in the running overall.�

Matt Riddell, Samsung � 6th
�Little disappointed. We had a huge fight against Spirit of Sark � monumental! And we managed to hold off one of the best boats in the fleet. We�re very happy for Forbesy on BG SPIRIT, the whole team is.

�Had we stayed south like the boats which finished first, second, third and fourth we would have had a very good chance of a podium position. But for some strange reason I got the jitters and decided to go north and that was the wrong call and I�ve been regretting it for the last 48 hours. I knew I made the wrong decision and need to live with that.

�The whole crew is glad to be here and I�m home. We had a dream reception, I�m home and we�re still in third.�

Leg 3 Results:
1. BG SPIRIT 7d 2h 11m 4s
2. SAIC La Jolla 7d 2h 26 24s
3. Me to You 7d 2h 32m 48s
4. Pindar 7d 3h 6m 5s
5. BP Explorer 7d 3h 8m 9s
6. Samsung 7d 4h 43m 44s
7. Spirit of Sark 7d 5h 5m 18s
8. Team Stelmar 7d 5h 6m 32s
9. Barclays Adventurer 7d 5h 35m 19s
10. VAIO 7d 7h 18m 33s
11. Team Save the Children 7d 8h 28m 49s
12. Imagine It. Done. 7d 13h 6m 15s

Overall leaderboard will be confirmed after the protest hearing on Monday 15th November.

More About the Global Challenge:
The Global Challenge was the brainchild of Sir Chay Blyth CBE BEM, the legendary yachtsmen who was the first person to sail around the world against prevailing winds and currents, non-stop. He wanted to make the dream of sailing around the world accessible to all and hence Challenge Business and the Global Challenge were born in 1989.

The Global Challenge 2004, now in its forth series, started from Portsmouth on October 3rd 2004 and will race, against prevailing winds and currents, to Buenos Aires, Wellington, Sydney, Cape Town, Boston, La Rochelle and then back to Portsmouth. It features 12 identical 72ft race yachts, 12 professional skippers and over 200 crew made up from men and women of all walks of life and nationality. The Global Challenge helps the ordinary achieve the extraordinary.

Global Challenge Fleet Moves Toward Sydney

IN BRIEF:
- Barclays Adventurer completes steady move up the leaderboard into 2nd
- Only 250nm to go
- First yacht estimated to arrive in the early hours of Sunday (GMT)
- Team Stelmar hold on to 1st place, just 2nm ahead of 2nd
- Yachts expected to sail into Sydney Harbour in sight of one another
- BG SPIRIT gradually gaining from the south

COMMENTARY:
Now that a mere 250nm separate the fleet from the finish line, teams are positioning themselves for the run in to Sydney Harbour, with the first yacht expected over the line in the early hours of Sunday morning (GMT).

Teams are now faced with an agonising wait to see who comes out on top when the light winds, currently from the southwest, veer to the south-southwest.

�We had nice 25 knot winds last night and this morning and now we have 15 knots, which will probably slow down in the next few hours,� reported Amedeo Sorrentino, skipper of VAIO. �That will be the moment when advantages or disadvantages in terms of distance to Sydney Harbour come into play.

�Along with Imagine It. Done., we have a taken the risk of going a little bit north of the rest of the fleet,� he continued, �so at the moment we are lying back in the positions, but in the next 24-hours we hope to take advantage of that.�

The main bunch of 9 yachts to the south have been covering each other for some time, now lead by Team Stelmar, closely followed by Barclays Adventurer only 2nm behind in 2nd. But skipper of 1st place Team Stelmar, Clive Cosby also has his eye on BG SPIRIT, who have taken up a lonely position to the south of the fleet.

�BG SPIRIT are further south,� said Clive earlier today, �so the breeze filling in from the south could benefit them, we�ll just have to see. We�re in a good position at the moment but the fleet is so compact we can�t afford to park up or make any mistakes at all.�

BG SPIRIT moved four places up the leaderboard today, currently lying in 7th and reporting slightly more boat speed than much of the fleet. More importantly, though, if the winds build from the southwest in sufficient time, they may continue their journey through the rankings.

However, the East Australian Current that flows southwards, the light and fluky winds known to occur inside the harbour and the incredibly small distances between the yachts means this sprint leg is still wide open.

QUOTES FROM THE BOATS

Eero Lehtinen � SAIC La Jolla
�Bad day yesterday. Wasted an opportunity to gain on the fleet as wind died and got all fluky. Sea state was really confused and nothing seemed to stay for longer than 10 minutes at a time. Waited too long with the kite hoist and didn't take the gain which was available.

�Then to crown the day, just after it got dark we had 35 knots of wind and took a second reef in. As it was done we spotted a broken No. 3 batten, had to lower the main and do the tricky replacement in dark and choppy conditions. 3 hours without main, now we are a 'batten length behind'. Might be a long batten after all... Working our way to south side again, as following the guys in front of us won't do the job.�

Loz Marriott � Pindar
�Southern boats will get the new wind after the high tomorrow near Sydney. It�s just a matter of how far and when do you go north to make the entrance to Sydney. We are looking to be middle, but slightly south of the fleet.�

Dee Caffari � Imagine It. Done.
�We have VAIO out to windward of us and we are all going the same speed and the same heading to Sydney. There is a light patch ahead with the wind and that will occur at the same time as the East Australian Current effects us, we�ll be crossing it's path into Sydney, so yet again the race will be won or lost in light airs.�

Leaderboard DTF
Team Stelmar 259nm
Barclays Adventurer 261nm
Spirit of Sark 263nm
Me to You 264nm
BP Explorer 267nm
Samsung 269nm
BG SPIRIT 272nm
SAIC La Jolla 274nm
VAIO 274nm
Team Save the Children 276nm
Imagine It. Done. 276nm
Pindar 282nm

Orange II off the Kerguelens Tonight

After just 18 days of racing, Bruno Peyron's Orange II maxi-catamaran is accelerating again and heading due east towards the Kerguelen Islands, which they should pass on the northern side during the night. Sailing at an average speed of almost 25 knots since early this afternoon, the giant Orange II is currently feeling the first effects of the low-pressure area they were expecting, which should generate north westerly winds taking them all the way to Cape Leeuwin (Australia). In spite of easing off a little yesterday, which allowed the crew to carry out a check-up of the boat, they are still more than 3 days ahead of Cheyenne and G�ronimo's times and have been keeping up the average speed since the start to 22.3 knots.

During today's radio session, the skipper of Orange II, who had just rewarded himself with two hours of sleep under the duvet, talked about the conditions they were experiencing in the deep south and about his strategy for the next few days. Bruno Peyron: �We're starting to pick up the north westerlies that we had been waiting for, and that should allow us to pick up some speed over the next few hours. In fact, we were forced to slow down because of the ridge of high-pressure, which was not moving fast enough and that we reached each time we stepped up the speed. That seems to have sorted itself out now, as we're beginning to feel the first effects of the front of this low-pressure area, which I'm hoping will take us all the way to Australia.�

Extracts from today's radio session with Bruno Peyron and Bernard Stamm :
Pit Stop: �During our pit stop, yesterday, the crew of Orange II carried out a complete check-up on the boat. The mast, rigging, inside the hull, pulleys, travellers and mainsail head were all given the once over. We changed the fittings on the mainsail head, which were starting to wear. Apart from that, the boat seems in perfect condition.�

Progress: �I never stop thinking about it, as it's the only thing that keeps me going. Knowing how we can do better tomorrow. Imagining that the progress could one day come to an end is not very pleasing from an intellectual standpoint. I'm convinced that technological progress, time and the knowledge acquired by man can only move forward.�

The storms: �We could always find ourselves facing a huge storm, like in 1993, as the seas and winds are still as powerful in the deep south. However, a lot has changed over the past ten years. Firstly, there has been enormous progress in weather forecasting, and the charts are more accurate than at that time. The first big storm (75-knot winds and 15-metre troughs) that we experienced in the Jules Verne Trophy in 1993 was down to a mistake I made. What we know today about the weather conditions allows us to understand better the various weather patterns and anticipate them. We are sailing today aboard bigger boats, which are better able to face up to the strength of the waves. Finally, we have learnt to sail in these extreme conditions and we feel safer on these giant cats.�

The Jules Verne Trophy: �The historical aspect of the Jules Verne Trophy is down to its timeless quality. I was lucky to be the first to grab it in 93, then for a second time in 2002. Today, the men on board are less attentive to labels and pay more attention to what they are doing and to sheer performance.�

Alain Prost : �It is not out of the question that we could one day sail together. We already talked about it in Marseilles. Alain is a fan of speed, technology and performance and while he hasn't yet mastered all the skills required, I'm quite sure he could learn very quickly. In any case, he could adapt to our sport more quickly than I could to his.�

Bernard Stamm. The 60 foot Open skipper talked at the start of the radio session: �I'm highly impressed by this wind machine. You get used to sailing at high speed very quickly. The boat is a marvel to steer. It's a bit like a sporting cat. At 30 knots aboard my monohull, it's really a battle, while on board Orange II, you really feel perfectly safe. Bruno gave me a great opportunity by allowing me to take part in this adventure. He's a real leader of men, and everything is going very smoothly on board.

Volvo Ocean Race Announces Last Stops

Rotterdam (NED), Portsmouth (UK) and Gothenburg (SWE) were today announced as the last two stopover ports and the finish of the 31,250 nm Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06. All three ports are steeped in maritime history and all nations have historic links with the event and its thirty-year history.

Glenn Bourke, CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race joined Mayor Ivo Opstelten at the Royal Yacht and Rowing Club 'De Maas' in Rotterdam to announce that Portsmouth and Rotterdam, one of the largest commercial ports in the world, will be the final two stopover ports of the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06 and that Gothenburg (pending final negotiations) will host the finish of the world's premier ocean race.

Portsmouth is famous as the home of the event at its inception in 1973 as The Whitbread Round the World Race. It hosted the starts and finishes of four races from 1973 to 1986. For 2006, it will be Portsmouth's popular Gunwharf Quays and the Historic Dockyards, which will be the venue for the Volvo Ocean Race village and racing fleet from 23 May to 3 June. There will be a spectacular in-port race held in the Solent, the narrow stretch of water between the mainland and the Isle of Wight so famous for yacht racing, on 29 May, when a huge fleet of spectator boats is expected.

Councillor Mike Hancock said, "Portsmouth is delighted to have been chosen as the UK stopover port for the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06. Bringing this famous race back to its original home, Gunwharf Quays, will be a major event in 2006. We will ensure the teams and sponsors receive the world famous Portsmouth welcome."

After leaving Portsmouth on 3 June in an re-enactment of previous race starts, the fleet will race westwards down the English Channel and sail 1,500 nautical miles around Britain and Ireland to arrive in Rotterdam, the European Capital of Sport in 2005, on 9 June.

Holland has fielded many boats in this ocean grand prix, including the winner in 1977-78 and 1981-82 - the legendary Cornelis (Connie) van Rietschoten. Connie won the race twice in his two Sparkman and Stephens designed boats of the same name, Flyer and through his talent and professionalism he set new standards in ocean racing.

The Kop van Zuid in the centre of Rotterdam will most probably host the finish of this leg. With easy and direct access to the sea, Rotterdam will also host the final, and possibly the most exciting, in-port race on 11 June, as well as the start of the finishing leg of the event on 15 June.

Mayor Ivo Opstelten said, "This is a great honour for Rotterdam and for The Netherlands. As European Capital of Sport for 2005, Rotterdam has developed a reputation for hosting world class sporting events. The 'Volvo' is a truly world class event - an ultimate test of technology, sporting skill and teamwork. These amazing boats, the world-class sailors, their back up teams and their sponsors will be our guests for seven days. We will give them a tremendous welcome and put on a fantastic show for them, the people of Holland and the rest of the world watching on TV and the web."

The climax of the event will be the start of the nail-biting 500 miles to Gothenburg, Sweden on 15 June. Gothenburg hosted one of the best stopovers during 2002 and it is of course the home of Volvo, making it a natural home for the finish on 17 June.

Volvo Ocean Race CEO, Glenn Bourke, commented, "I am pleased that the result of many, many months of discussion have now come to fruition and we are able to announce the final race track for the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06 here in Rotterdam. The final three ports are steeped in maritime history, have a phenomenal sailing heritage, an inbuilt love of the sport and a strong relationship with the race, a combination which will give the race the final impetus needed as it enters its final and most exciting stage. "

Hellmoto "Giving 100% to the End"

HELLOMOTO is sailing north easterly direction towards Cape Finisterre in very shifty conditions, holding out a 50+ mile lead over Arcelor Dunkerque in terms of distance to finish as HELLOMOTO is much closer to the direct route but not as far North

~ Conrad believes that the shortest distance sailed will pay when the weather is still unclear, but he won�t know until he is close to the line so he is sailing these last 1,800 miles as if it was a regatta, sleeping in short bursts, plenty of sail changes on deck, giving it 100% until the end!
~ It is Conrad�s 32nd birthday on Sunday 13th February so please email in your birthday messages so we can forward them to him to cheer him up as he didn�t take any presents with him! Email: info@o6t.com

An interview with Conrad is available to listen to and download online at www.windreport.com/vguk or on www.o6t.com click on latest news and follow the link to 100205 audio file.

Conrad Humphreys interview from onboard HELLOMOTO this morning courtesy of Geolink/Iridium:

�Looking at the charts today I�m not convinced I�ve gone the right way but it�s so hard to call as the Azores High is not at all stable. In the short term, Joe will make some significant gains but then the Azores High will become a blocking feature in the North eventually. I have to stick to my guns and make this side work. Maybe this race will turn on its head at the finish line where things will be very different after the 15th. I�ve just got to be 100% from now on, I�m sleeping in 20 minute cat naps now, 1,800 miles to go and it�s very shifty the whole time. I got enough sleep last night so I�m feeling refreshed even if last night was pretty active. I�m constantly on deck trimming, sailing like it�s a day race. I changed sails a dozen times last night between the genoa and staysail, reefs in and out�

�I hope things pan out on this side of the course. Joe may have taken the champagne route now, but he has to go a long way North and it will get cold up there! I think I�ve got it right over the duration from now to the finish but it will take that long to see how this works out. Every day is going to be different and I know that between now and the finish I�m going to go through a lot of different emotions and feelings. Finishing 7th or 8th is not a big difference in terms of the race we�ve sailed so far. As for my race psyche, I believe the shortest distance wins races. When conditions are unclear and you don�t have a definite plan of where to approach the finish, always resort back to the basics and they are to sail the shortest distance, it�s won me races in the past and I hope it does it for me this time round.�

Vend�e Globe 2005 Podium:

1. PRB / Vincent Riou : Arrived on 02/02/2005 at 22:49:55, in 87 days, 10 hrs, 47 mins, 55 secs, at an average boat speed of 11.28 knots

2. Bonduelle / Jean Le Cam : Arrived on 03/02/2005 at 05:22:08, in 87 days, 17 hrs, 20 mins, 8 secs, at an average boat speed of 11.25 knots

3. Ecover / Mike Golding : Arrived on 04/02/05 at 03:17:13, in 88 days, 15 hrs, 15 mins, 13 secs, at an average boat speed of 11.13 knots

VAIO Leads In Third Leg of Global Challenge

IN BRIEF:

- Global Challenge fleet enters Tasman Sea on way to Sydney at start of leg 3
- Winds predicted to go light before a strong breeze from the northwest fills in
- VAIO holding marginal lead with solitary northerly position
- Bulk of the fleet playing it safe down the middle of the track
- 10 yachts separated by 5nm in terms of distance to finish

IN DETAIL:

The Global Challenge fleet has left the Cook Strait behind and entered the Tasman Sea, VAIO leading the way in a lonely but potentially shrewd position to the north of the fleet.

The northerly breeze has pushed all the teams below the rhumb line, but 10 yachts are closely packed together, spread across approximately 7nm of water from west to east and 10nm from north to south. Pindar have taken a risk and chosen a route further south, perhaps hoping the predicted wind shift back round to the south-west will be accompanied by enough breeze to make their potentially faster point of sail back up to the rhumb line worth the sacrifice.

BG SPIRIT has held 2nd place, 2nm behind VAIO and leading the main pack of 10 chasing teams who must all be able to see each other. Team Save the Children and Samsung are closest together, separated by a matter of metres in 7th and 8th respectively.

Looking at the weather ahead, there should be benefits north and south of the line along the way. Over the next 24-hours light winds caused by a weak high-pressure system to the north of the fleet may frustrate the teams. As the high ridges southeast towards the east of the fleet, the strong westerlies from a well-formed depression tracking across below the fleet will be forced further south by the high, leaving the teams in light airs to begin with. Current average boat speeds of around 7 knots in pleasant reaching conditions in a fresh breeze from the north will become a search for every last breath of air from the southwest.

Then a compression zone between the two will bring a strong northwesterly breeze of 25 knots or more. Teams to the north of the course will probably benefit as those too far south find themselves beating into the wind.

However, as the low-pressure system continues its southeastern course below the fleet, the wind will back to the south-southwest, which could tip the balance back and benefit teams further south. So there does not appear to be a straightforward tactical solution to the weather patterns in store for the fleet. Playing the middle ground along the centre of the track and sailing the shortest course may well be the prudent choice, as the rewards associated with any pronounced deviation from the racecourse might not justify the risks. Taking flyers during a sprint leg such as this rarely reap rewards � more often they end with misery for the bold team concerned.
-Written by Dan Wedgwood

QUOTES FROM THE BOATS:

Dee Caffari � Imagine It. Done.

�At the moment it�s looking like it�s going to be quite light, with some southerly winds. After that it should fill in from the north and we should have quite a strong northwesterly breeze, but that won�t get to us �til Wednesday morning [Tuesday evening on GMT]. When we get that strong northwesterly it�s going to be very difficult to stay north of the track.

�Coming into Sydney, one place you want to stay is north of the Heads,� she added, �because you�ve got the East Australian Current taking you south at quite a strong rate. We�ll be using the next couple of days to come up as high as possible, so that when the northwesterly fills in with some pace we can just head off and enjoy the ride.�

Eero Lehtinen � SAIC La Jolla

�We are quite happy to be on the left hand side [south] of the track. We believe the wind should be shifting tonight � but also halfway to Sydney there should be a benefit being a bit further south.�

Clive Cosby � Team Stelmar

�It�s all about staying down the middle and boat speed, boat speed, boat speed! We�re sailing straight down the line as fast as we can towards Sydney.�

Paul Kelly � Team Save the Children

�Staying on the rhumb line as this leg is so short that any tactical error will be unrecoverable. Looks like the light breeze will continue and we are expecting a shift sometime in the next few hours round to the southwest. Covering the fleet and eking out every last ounce of boat speed.�

Leaderboard w/DTF:

VAIO 1,009nm
BG SPIRIT 1,011nm
Barclays Adventurer 1,012nm
BP Explorer 1,013nm
SAIC La Jolla 1,013nm
Imagine It. Done. 1,014nm
Team Save the Children 1,015nm
Samsung 1,015nm
Team Stelmar 1,015nm
Spirit of Sark 1,016nm
Me to You 1,016nm
Pindar 1,025nm

Orange II Making Headway - Jules Verne '05

The giant Orange II is likely to give up a few miles to her virtual opponents today, because of the westerly flow they are in, which is forcing them to tack between 45� and 50� South. After passing the Prince Edward Islands early this morning, the boat is continuing to cross the Indian Ocean heading towards the Kerguelens, squeezed between the light winds in the north and icebergs further south. In spite of this, her average speed over 24 hours is still close to 20 knots. At 10.00 GMT this morning, at the end of the sixteenth day of racing, Bruno Peyron's crew had covered 8643 miles since the start, and increased the lead over the round the world record time (+ 1860 miles ahead of Steve Fossett's record time). Contacted this lunchtime for the radio link-up, which could be followed live on Internet and on 3G Orange mobiles, the skipper of Orange II talked about life on board during this awesome crossing of the hostile Indian Ocean. In particular, he announced that the boat's radar had broken down, and that this was a real problem now that they were on iceberg alert.

The world live on Orange mobile phones thanks to 3G technology: Before the link-up with the boat, Julien Billot, Director of marketing for Orange for the general public and businesses, expressed the desire of the group to make use of 3G technology to enable as many people as possible to share in the exploits of Bruno Peyron and his crew during their attempt at the world record. Thus, owners of Orange mobile handsets can receive live and recorded pictures via satellite from the other side of the planet.

Here are some extracts from the radio session with the skipper of Orange II :

The weather and radar no longer functioning: The weather is magnificent, and certainly does not reflect the tension of the last few days, as we've been used to sailing in grey conditions in these latitudes. We're in a mousetrap, blocked by calms and ice. A high-pressure ridge is arriving from the north. We adopted a rather conservative strategy concerning the icebergs. While there is ice to our south, we only head back down during daylight hours. We can tell you now. We no longer have any radar. There's no way we're going to play Russian roulette. We gybed, when we saw the fifth iceberg. At night, we head back up. An iceberg is beautiful to see. It's nice to see them when you're in an exploration ship, but not aboard a carbon monster travelling at 30 knots. I can understand why people are fascinated by this beauty, but it's better for us to get away from there. We're not really welcome here. Icebergs : our trajectory took us down on the closest curve possible to the direct route. We gybed 3-4 hours earlier than planned. Just as well, as we would have found ourselves on the other side of the "mine-field." The sea temperature has fallen to 5�. We saw during the Vend�e Globe that there can be some further north. We must remain cautious, sensible and act responsibly, as we're always tempted to take the shortest route. If we have to lose a dozen or twenty hours for safety reasons, I'll accept that.. How to spot the icebergs : they can be seen with the naked eye during the day, when there is decent visibility (this morning, we couldn't even see the bow of the boat!) or with the help of electronic devices. We have a third way of spotting them : infrared binoculars. We put a man on watch at the bow. As the radar is no longer working, we're down to this watch, like in the old days. The lead over Cheyenne and Geronimo : we know our lead precisely. We have a lead of just under four days over Fossett. Over the past day, he won back a few miles. Our aim is to get out of this tricky area to the Kerguelens with between three and three and a half days lead with a boat and crew in fine fettle. The weather ahead should enable us to benefit from a north westerly flow to go on the attack! Remaining sensible: It doesn't bother me to ease off on the speed, when we need to, in order to put on more speed later, when conditions allow. You need to keep your wits about you to take the necessary decisions. The difficulty is when you drop behind and you don't have the intellectual faculty to take the right decisions. Log: We use a computer on the navigation table. Roger Nilson, as our navigator, notes everything down. That's not a legal requirement, but for our own use. It's a way of remembering everything that happened on board. There are things you tend to forget over such a long journey. When we re-read it later, we realise there are things that we didn't pay enough attention to at the time. Roger is very technical. He writes a more factual log. I've got an exercise book in which I note down other information. Ellen MacArthur : We keenly followed the Vend�e Globe and her record. It's only half a surprise, as it's not the first time she has done something amazing. Rest: The last ten minutes have been the first time that we've had such sea conditions and are making less than 25-30 knots. We hadn't seen that since coming out of the Doldrums. I hope that will remove some of the stress from the minds of the crew. For the moment, the boat is in perfect condition. We check her over at the end of each watch, or in other words every 4 hours. We're going to take advantage of this calm zone to stop. We're going to lower the sails and send the bowman up the mast to check everything over. Icebergs and the strategy ahead: We're really frightened of icebergs. We know they are not far off. We hoped we had a wide enough margin to avoid them, but there they are. We're in a tricky situation with the ice and the calms. That means we shall be losing some time, but not over the record. The wind is easing off sooner than forecast. That means we should be able to head off to the right, but we can't, because it's dark. Performance: We're the first to be surprised by our performance. We did what we could. The crew have worked like mad since the start. We were on the attack until yesterday. Since yesterday morning, we've adopted a more conservative approach. That will last for two days. Our next attack will be with the next front. Playing with the weather: In 93 during the first Jules Verne, we were the first boat to play yo-yo with the weather systems in the deep south. Last summer, we left behind one system, caught a low, got through it and reached England before the winds. If we had left later from New York, we would have arrived with the winds. Orange II is a time machine. It's amazing! Peter Blake : During the first Jules Verne, the people I thought about were those, who preceded us in the 19th Century at the time of the clippers. During the Cape Horn storm in 1993, we complained about the cold, but we forgot what it was like there 100 or 150 years earlier. This Jules Verne story, I shared it with Peter Blake. He is no longer there, and from time to time, we tip our hats to him. There are times, when we would have liked him to be at our side in the same boat going along at 35 knots.

Hellomoto Reports In: Day 94

HELLOMOTO is duelling for 7th place up the North Atlantic 40m ahead of Arcelor-Dunkerque, however their common enemy is now the expanse of high pressure sitting over the Azores and spreading right over the direct route causing a big obstacle on progress to the finish.

Conrad Humphreys interview from onboard HELLOMOTO this morning courtesy of Geolink/Iridium:
�The weather is very complicated ahead and I�m just trying to work it out. The high pressure system is going to track east to west across our path and then drift north again and I don�t think there�s anyway round it. I think my only option is to go upwind and try to go to the south east (right side) of it and work upwind slowly in the breeze but at least I can maintain pressure. I think Joe & I will split here as I�m heading north east and he�s been heading north. This route will put the boat under a lot more pressure and more loads but I�m pretty sure it�s the right course in terms of distance to finish, but it�s changing all the time. It really all depends on what happens with the high pressure, its path is not that determined and so it could be a bit of an obstacle for us. If you go all the way around it as you would usually, I think you could have to get as far as 50 degrees North before you can then point your bows to Les Sables d�Olonne and then it will be beating upwind to the finish in south easterlies. I�m 90% certain that the route I�ll take will be better, and at least it will mean I won�t finish in upwind conditions even if it will be slow. My ETA could slip a day as the latter stages of the race are influenced by this high pressure with light winds.

�The other issue is one of fuel as I only have enough fuel to get me to around the 17th and I have no other form of generating power, so once I run out of fuel the boat shuts down. The solar panels will only keep a GPS running but not the autopilot. I�m going to have to limit everything we do in terms of power from here on in. I�m entering shipping areas and last night I had two ships come past and without my radar or lights it�s very stressful and raises my chances of being run down by something. I�ll be hand steering much more in the daytime but on this tack it�s hard as the tiller is sticking out 45 degrees in the wrong direction�but at least it is more pleasant hand steering here than in the Southern Ocean. All I�m thinking about now is finishing, I just want to get home��

Ellen Has Done It!!

B&Q skipper, Ellen MacArthur, crossed the finish line off Ushant at 22:29:17 GMT tonight (Monday, 7.2.05) to set a new solo, non-stop round the world record of 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes and 33 seconds. MacArthur has taken 1 day, 8 hours, 35 minutes, 49 seconds off the previous fastest 72 day, 22 hours, 54 minute solo time of Francis Joyon (Joyon finished his record attempt on 3.2.04).

From Ellen minutes after crossing the line: "I cannot believe it, I absolutely cannot believe it. It hasn't sunk in yet. I don't think until I see faces again that it's really going to sink in. It's been an absolutely unbelievable journey, both physically and mentally. I'm absolutely overjoyed."

Conditions at the finish line were relatively calm with a moderate 12-16 knot south-easterly breeze propelling B&Q at speeds from 18 to 20 knots. The WSSRC observer, Claude Breton, based at the lighthouse in Ushant counted down the finish time as a number of helicopters hovered above the 75ft mulithull, B&Q, filming the final moments of MacArthur's record attempt. The Royal Navy's HMS Severn stood off the line prepared to escort her across the Channel and into Falmouth. MacArthur's shore team are onboard ready to board the trimaran as soon as possible to help MacArthur sail the 100 miles to Falmouth.

B&Q sailed 27,354 miles through the water at an average speed of 15.9 knots.

A huge welcome reception is being planned in Falmouth for MacArthur's return. The trimaran will dock at Port Pendennis Marina and the public and over 300 media gathered here in Falmouth will be able witness her return from the National Maritime Museum Cornwall.

She will not arrive at the entrance to Falmouth before 0800 GMT, and a more accurate arrival time will be published on the website once the shore team are onboard and a better analysis can be made of the speed at which they can sail the 100 miles to the finish.

The new solo world speed record will need to be ratified by the WSSRC [World Speed Sailing Records Council].

ELLEN MACARTHUR SOLO ROUND THE WORLD - NEW SOLO TIMES:
Ushant-Equator 8d 18h 20m 7/12/04 0230GMT (taking 14h 3m off Joyon's time)
Ushant-Cape of Good Hope 19d 9h 46m 17/12/04 1756GMT (taking 10h 45m off Joyon's time)
Ushant-Cape Leeuwin 29d 14h 5m 27/12/04 2215GMT (taking 17h 24m off Joyon's time)
Ushant-Cape Horn 44d 23h 36m 12/1/04 0746GMT (taking 4 days 2h 45m off Joyon's time)
Ushant-Equator 60d 13h 35m 27/1/05 2145GMT (taking 1d 10h 50m off Joyon's time)
Equator-Equator record of 51 days, 19 hours and 15 minutes

Farr 40 - Australia - Local Teams Look Strong

The Rolex Farr 40 World Championship is coming to Sydney this March, and there are a number of local teams looking to ensure the trophy remains there well beyond the end of the regatta. The biggest advantage in the Australian teams favour is perhaps the notorious ocean swell, which makes for challenging sailing beyond the shelter of Sydney Harbour.

Richard Perini, owner/driver of local Farr 40 Evolution, says the conditions could prove crucial to the outcome of the forthcoming Worlds, hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia from 1-4 March. "The racing will take place just outside Sydney Heads, and the main difference between this venue and most others is the sea state and general bumpiness out there," says Perini.

Some teams discovered just how challenging the Sydney swell could be when they competed in the Rolex Trophy just before Christmas, a regatta that Perini won by a comfortable margin. A crewmember of another top Australian boat, Emotional Hooligan, was washed overboard during a sail-handling manoeuvre on the foredeck. If it can catch out the locals, it certainly has the potential to do the same to visiting teams.

But Perini foresees the biggest issue will be not so much boat handling as consistent boat speed in this unpredictable seaway. "Rig set-up is going to be the most important thing," he says. "The difference between getting it right and wrong in Sydney is going to be more dramatic than anywhere else. If we get the traditional Sydney bump early on in the regatta then some teams - particularly the guys who didn't do the Rolex Trophy - might have a big learning curve. I would say that for the teams that did come, it was a real good wake-up call for them."

While Aussie teams dominated the top placings back in December, the one exception was German boat Morning Glory in fourth place. Owner Hasso Plattner has recently secured the services of Russell Coutts as his tactician and the results have come quickly. After the fourth in Sydney followed victory at a very competitive Key West Race Week in Florida. Perini certainly ranks this team as one of the biggest threats from overseas, along with 2003 World Champion Massimo Mezzaroma's Nerone and defending Champion from 2004, Jim Richardson's Barking Mad.

But Perini says there will be plenty of serious competition from the home nation, notably Emotional Hooligan and Southern Star, the latter helmed by the only Australian yet to have won the Farr 40 world title, John Calvert-Jones. Having done little racing in the past year, Calvert-Jones is playing down his chances of emulating his title victory back in 2000: "My preparations have been less than adequate, but I've got a great team around me, and it helps to have sailors like Grant Simmer [America's Cup winner] and Col Beashel [America's Cup winner and Olympic medallist] standing next to you when you're in the thick of it."

Calvert-Jones says the great thing about the class is that people can come in and win races almost immediately. "Out of nine races we had seven different winners two years ago in Sardinia," he points out, "but the key is being consistent across the whole regatta." Calvert-Jones and his team on Southern Star will be working hard over the coming weeks to hone their skills back into regatta winning form.

Calvert-Jones is the reigning Australian National Champion, but the recent run of form has gone Perini's way, with Evolution emerging top yacht in four out of five Farr 40 regattas this season. They say that winning is a habit, and these recent victories - along with the fact that he is the reigning World Champion in the Farr 40's smaller sister, the Mumm 30 - mark him out as one of the favourites for the Farr 40 World title. "I think our preparation and current head of steam is about as good as anyone out there," he says. "We'd be on for being up there amongst them."

But with a quality-packed fleet of 30 Farr 40s, Perini knows he is up against a Who's Who of yachting talent. Olympic gold medallists abound, notably Russell Coutts, Mark Reynolds, Tom King and Jesper Bank. Perini is not doing too badly either, however, with former Team New Zealand tactician and Athens Olympian Hamish Pepper calling the shots. Perini concludes: "It's safe to say we've never seen this much talent gathered in Sydney at one time."

The first indicator of form will come from the Rolex Farr 40 Pre-Worlds 2005, which take place from 24 to 26 February.

Sail Auckland 2005 Final Results

The four-day Sail Auckland 2005 Olympic and Invited Classes Regatta took place in conditions ranging from light and shifty to a blustery 30 knots. Close competition in the Laser Fleet saw Michael Bullot emerge the winner while Olympic Europe sailor Sarah Macky has proven she can adapt back to the new Olympic Class, the Laser Radial.

Michael Bullot finished strongly winning all three races on the final day of the regatta and beating Andrew Murdoch of Kerikeri to the top spot. David Weaver finished 3rd. Bullot is showing consistent form having placed 5th at the recent Sail Melbourne regatta against strong international competition in the Laser fleet and was New Zealand’s top performer.

Top youth went to Blair McLay from Torbay Sailing Club who competed in last years ISAF Youth Worlds and also sailed well in Australia in January.

Yachting New Zealand’s National Coach Ian Neely noted that the sailors who competed recently in Australia had benefited from the experience and were sailing well. Sail Auckland represented the first of three regattas which count towards selection for the New Zealand national team to compete at the World Champs in Brazil later this year. The Laser sailors are back on the water for the Class Nationals next weekend in Napier and then on to Asia Pacifics in Wellington.

“Bullot and McLay both had a couple of good regattas in Australia and have continued their good form. Sail Auckland showed us the tightest sailing we’ve seen in New Zealand for a while and in a wide range of conditions,” says Neely. “At the start of the final day there was only four points between the top three in the Lasers, and it all came down to the last race.”

The Laser Radial created a good deal of interest and some similarly tight sailing. The class has only recently been announced as the new single-handed women’s Olympic class to replace the Europe and being sailed as an open fleet over the weekend in Auckland provided the women with some tough competition.

2004 Olympian, Sarah Macky has once again proven her talent by making the switch from the Europe into the Radial and being first female to finish. Macky won the ISAF Youth Worlds in the Radial back in 1997. Close behind her was Sara Winther of Takapuna Boating Club and Miranda Powrie in 3rd. Olivia Powrie was first Youth to and finished well inside the top ten in 7th place overall and 6th female.

Stand out performers in the 420 class were the Tauranga pair of Peter Burling and Bruce Kennedy. Yachting New Zealand’s High Performance Manager, Peter Lester commends the young pair on their result in the double-handed dinghy.

“These two were the top place-getters in the Starling Nationals a month ago and have just cleaned-up the fleet in the 420’s here”,’ says Lester. “Able to count a clean sweep of race wins they finished on 8 points, that’s 21 points ahead of the guys in 2nd. It’s a great performance and these boys will no doubt be contenders at YouthSail in April.”

Lester also comments on the re-emergence of the 49er as an active class. Jake Bartom and Craig Prentice had a strong regatta beating Scott Kennedy and Chris Kitchen by 11 points.

“It’s great to see some young guys back out on the water in the 49er. The class has been inactive and we’ve now got some quality young talent giving the 49ers a go,” says Lester.

Final Results:

Laser Radial - Men
1.Mark Orams, 25 points � B.B.Y.C.
2.Hayden Bruce, 121 points � B.S.B.C.
3.Seth Price,128 points H.B.C.

Laser Radial - Women
1.Sarah Macky, 38 points � K.Y.C. � 1st girl l
2.Sara Winther 41 points � T.B.C.l
3.Miranda Powrie, 47 points � K.Y.C.

Laser
1.Michael Bullot, 29 points � M.B.S.C.
2.Andrew Murdoch, 37 points � K.K.C.C.
3.David Weaver, 45 points � T.B.B.C.

Mistral - Men
1.Matthew McCormack, 11 points � M.O.A.
2.Michael Lichtwark,31 points � T.B.C
3.Antonio Cozzolino, 41 points � K.Y.C.

Mistral � Women
1.Sheena McKinnon, 37 points � M.O.A.
2.Anna Eason, 52 points B.B.Y.C.
3.Louise Wilkinson, 92 points � K.Y.C.

420
1.Peter Burling/ Bruce Kennedy , 8 points � T.Y.P.B.C.
2. Adrian Short/ Thomas Ploessel, 29 points � Sandspit Y.C.
3. Josh Junior/ Benn Hanns, 31 points � W.B.B.C.
1st girls � Hayley Wilson/ Rosie Sargisson 36 points � �� M.B.S.C./ K.Y.C.

470
1.Derek Scott/ Dave Healey, 12 points � Naval Point Y.C.
2.Karen Lambert/ Sally Garrett, 34 points � M.B.S.C.  � 1st girls
3.Geoff Woolley/ Mark Overington, 46 points � K.Y.C.

49er
1.Jake Bartrom/ Craig Prentice, 10 points � K.Y.C.
2. Scott Kennedy/ Chris Kitchen, 21 points � K.Y.C.
3. Allan Coutts/ Alastair Gair, 33 points � Milford C.C.

Flying Fifteen
1.Murray Gilbert/ John Burgess � R.A.Y.C.
2.Peter Dallimore/Stu Edgar � R.A.Y.C.
3.Chris Field/ Nick Watson � G.B.C./ R.A.Y.C.

Optimist � Green
1.Hamish Powrie, 5 points � K.Y.C.
2.James Little, 20 points � K.Y.C.
3.Jennifer Mackay, 21 points � M.B.S.C.- 1st girl

Optimist � Open
1.Carl Evans, 10 points � K.Y.C.
2.Paul Snow-Hansen, 16 points � W.B.C.
3.Marcus Hansen, 16 points � M.B.B.C.
1st girl � Susannah Pyatt, 36 points, � M.B.S.C. .

P Class
1. Sam Meech, 5 points � Hamilton. Y.C.
2. Mike Adams, 10 points � K.Y.C.
3. Rachel Basevi, 18 points � Sandspit Y.C. � 1st girl l

Starling
1.Fernando Gwozdz,9 points � H.S.C.
2.Thomas Olds, 9 points � M.B.S.C.
3.Josh Nixon, 12 points � K.Y.C.
4.1st girl � Jessica Barrell, 72 points � T.B.C. .

Splash
1.Ersin Buckley, 9 points � Tutukaka Y.C.
2.Matthew Jacobson, 10 points � Whangarei Y.C.
3.Andy Maloney, 16 points � K.K.Y.C.
1st girl � Holly Lutze, 62 points � Taipa Y.C. .

60 Years of UCLA Sailing

2005 marks the 60th Anniversary of sailing at UCLA. They are looking for all past sailors, either from the team or recreational programs, to help them celebrate.

There is a reunion regatta in mid-June (more information coming soon).

For now they are hoping to hear from former UCLA Sailors who can share their memories and photos and other memorabilia.

For more information visit the website at: http://sixtyyears.marinaaquaticcenter.org/ or email: sailing@marinaaquaticcenter.org

Horrendous ... The Last 24 Hours According to Ellen

The last 24 hours have been absolutely horrendous. We've had everything from full on gusts of 40 knots in the tail end of a storm, we've had huge sea states at the end of yesterday after the storm in the north, we sailed out of that sea state during the night still with some very strong gusts and we had to tack in a small low pressure system, off the north of Spain and that's proved very, very complicated. What we thought would be one tack on a shift off to the north ended up being seven tacks during the night. I had 100 degree wind shifts which lasted for 45 minutes which meant I had to tack and then came back again. It's been very, very variable very, very tough. And unbelieveably cold out here.

There is definitely still a chance to break the record as long as I don't hit anything or break anything between where I am now and the finish line. If all goes well it looks like I should be finishing during the night, tonight. But obviously looking at what we had last night we got held up by about 6 hours, and the winds should not be that strong on the way up the Bay of Biscay so it all depends on what wind we have and what direction it chooses to blow

I'm absolutely exhausted, I had about 15 minutes sleep I think through the night, there has been ships everywhere, rain squalls. We had the wind direction changing. At one point the boat tacked itself because the wind shift was so great so! It's been a full on night and I am very, very tired. I was hoping to be in before sunset tonight but that looks absolutely impossible now, so I'm just going to have to hang in here and just try and hold on until the finish.

Getting to land is a strange thing to say because it's been a long time since we've even seen land. We didn't see Cape Horn, all I've seen have seen are the Islands in the South Atlantic. There's not been a lot of land sighted from B&Q so the thought of coming back to land is pretty novel in itself. I'm very much looking forward to getting in, to seeing all the team, my friends and family and all the supporters. I can't wait to get in. It's been a very, very long trip and an exceptionally hard one. I'll be glad to be crossing that finish line and finally feeling a little bit of relief.

Still 200 Miles to Finish for Ellen

Slow and sleepless night for B&Q skipper Ellen MacArthur as she tried to get through the weather transition into the new and more favourable breeze. B&Q only made 100 miles distance towards the finish in the last 24 hours and at times during the night was actually sailing away from the finish - not surprisingly her lead on the record has dropped to 1 day and 8 hours. In comparison, Joyon on his 90ft multihull IDEC, was storming to the finish line clocking up 400+ miles in the same 24-hour period. Things can change quickly when MacArthur's 'virtual' competitor is having the opposite conditions to her - fast and in the right direction! B&Q was pushing eastwards most of yesterday as the northerly gale at the weekend slowly abated. The breeze was forecast to shift into the east and then south-east in the hourly hours of this morning. But the transition proved to be elusive with massive wind shifts of up to a 100 degrees forcing Ellen to tack the boat through the wind 11 times - one tack taking her towards the finish, the next away. It wasn't until just before sunrise that Ellen made what she hoped was the final tack to the north, although the permanence of the new wind direction is yet to be confirmed.

Hopes of making finish line off Ushant this afternoon have all but disappeared although current routing models suggest crossing the line later tonight is still possible - current ETA between 2300GMT and 0600GMT. Still 217 miles to go and with breeze in the 8-15 knot range this morning, Ellen will be anxious for south-easterly wind to become more stable and stronger, so she can power on towards the finish line that is so tantalising close but yet still so far away. The new best 'guess' for actually arriving in Falmouth will be Tuesday morning at present, all being well onboard.

Sleep? A bit short of it really! Ellen attacked the difficult sailing conditions of last night with a viewpoint that it was her last night at sea, and got just 15 minutes in total of sleep. The bad news for her this morning was that it doesn't look like it will be the last night. Getting some kind of naps will be critical for her today with extra vigilance also being required as she tracks across the Bay of Biscay quite close the route the cargo ships take from Finisterre to Ushant. On a call this morning Ellen admitted that she was really looking forward to seeing her family and friends, but that seeing land again would be a strange concept after so long at sea. Full audio will be available on the website today in the AUDIO/VIDEO section.

Joyon's 72 day, 22 hour, 54 minute world record rocked the sailing world when he crossed the finish line at 0654 GMT on 3rd February 2004, taking 21 days off the previous solo record set by 2001 Vend�e Globe winner, Michael Desjoyeaux on his 60ft monohull PRB. As Ellen said before leaving:

24 Hours ot OQ Off

With just 24 hours before the start of the historic Oryx Quest 2005, the four skippers are itching to get going. When the race starts at 14.00 local time tomorrow (Saturday, 5 February) four of the world's finest maxi multi-hulls will be pitched against each other for the first time ever, offering a unique insight into their capabilities under the same conditions.

"I think, for a lot of us, this is a big moment in racing," commented Olivier de Kersauson, Skipper of Geronimo. "It's a great pleasure to be able to compete head-to-head against this group of sailors and we will be doing it in the same weather conditions so everyone will be able to see the real differences. Oryx Quest will give a clear idea about our team and our boat compared to the others."

After months of arduous preparation, on the eve of the start all four men are looking forwarding to getting out on the water with their teams and putting the pressures of readying the boats behind them. David Scully of the largest boat, Cheyenne, explains:

"If there's one thing tougher than going out and sailing in the race, it's staying here and working on the boat, so I think we'll all be relieved when the starting gun goes because we'll be able to focus on what it was we came here to do rather than the intense preparation over the last couple of months."

For Doha 2006's Brian Thompson there is an added challenge in that his crew members, although a collection of highly talented individuals, have never raced together. "I'll be very happy to get out there because it's been a real rush to get ready and my crew still needs to get used to sailing together. Before we get to the southern ocean we'll have learned to sail her together."

The boats in the Oryx Quest 2005 will face a host of new challenges thrown up by the event's unique route. The teams will come across both stormy and dead calm conditions, icebergs and searing heat, but there is a real opportunity for navigators to show their skill: "There's never been a race across the Indian Ocean like this before," explains Race Director Alan Green. "Although our weather team will be closely monitoring the area during the race, the meteorological charts have never been studied by racing sailors before. It is quite possible that the North East monsoon could come in to play."

Thompson agrees: "The difference between this event and the Vendee Globe is that on the Vendee everyone knows the route. The Indian Ocean in this race will be very exciting as nobody knows it."

At $1 million, the reward for the winning crew of Oryx Quest 2005 is the largest prize in sailing history and each team has devised its own way to split the money should they cross the finish line first. Veteran sailor Tony Bullimore, skipper of Daedalus, plans to reward each crew member based on the specific challenges they face during the estimated 60 days on-board. "I plan to be very fair," he said, "and will use a percentages system. The race will be tough and when we get back I'll also be rewarding the crew with a large party, whether we win or not."

But for de Kersauson its more about the honour of victory against some of the most accomplished sailors in the fastest boats in the world that is his inspiration.

"For this race, considering all the boats involved, I will be happy simply to have crossed the line in front of the others. I think my team feels the same and, although we have talked about splitting the prize, we will deal with that issue when we get back in April."

Around the World Progress Check

Orange II the French maxi multi hull is attempting to break the outright around the world sailing record of 58 days.

This page shows the daily mileage of each boat, total miles sailed, average per day, projected overall time, the running total of miles for both boats, and the difference in miles for Cheyene/Orange II at comparable stages.

Vendee Globe Notes

The podium for the 2004-2005 Vendee Glove is now filled. Vincent Riou, Jean Le Cam and Mike Golding are the members of this tight podium group.

L-R Riou, Le Cam, Golding

Wish I could say that this is how I picked 'em. It's not. My pre race podium was Golding, Jourdain, Thiercelin. The latter two have dropped out and Golding lost his keel the day he finished! Harsh.

After the Transat this summer it looked like a potentially down period for French lone sailors. Not the case as they have taken 2 of the 3 podium slots, while 2 of the British boats with the best chances have dropped out.

Sebastien Josse sailing a non canting keel boat was near the lead for a long time. Then he became a casualty of ice. He collided with a growler, danged his rudder and bowsprit. His chances of winning went away, but he is still in the Top 5. Perhaps he is a favorite for 2008?

Earlier Roland Jourdain the popular French favorite became a keel casualty. Considering later keel events, Jourdain's dropping out while his keel was still attached looks a good thing!

Frenchman J.P. Dick has spent most of the race racing and operating a mobile boat repair shop. He's fixed gooseneck problems, suffered a dead engine, and sailed much of the globe w/o power! Currently 6th Dick has grunted up as needed.

The most dramatic repair of the race was by Conrad Humphreys/Hellomoto. He pulled off the course, came to anchor, removed a damaged rudder and installed a replacement rudder. This was all done by himself, with much of the work done underwater!

Humphreys situation illustrates the stark no assistance rules of the Vendee Globe. Although he anchored in a harbor, and pictures of him were easily taken he could not go ashore. If he ended up a nut or bolt short, he could not have swam ashore to get one!

Nick Moloney's 3rd around the world voyage was dramatic if ultimately unsuccessful. Moloney experienced a storm December 15th the effects on him he reported as follows: "I actually made the phone calls to say goodbye to my family. I was adamant I was going to pay the price. For a four hour period I wondered how it would end. I totally thought that my number was up completely."

Moloney came back from that to get out of the Southern Ocean and round Cape Horn. As he sailed North along Brazil he lost his keel! Race rapidly over.

Mike Golding had a varied race on his way to 3rd place. Early in the race he trailed by 100's of miles. He made his way up the fleet with a fast 31 day passage between the Cape of Good Hope and 'The Horn'. In the South Atlantic Golding actually held the lead. The came the famous Golding bad luck, & Halyard hell. 3 halyard breakages eventually put Golding too far back to get beyond 3rd.

Sailing contentedly toward the finish, Golding then lost his keel. Under reduced sail he brought his interesting race to a dramatic end!

Absent so far are the top finishers Riou and Le Cam. No keel problems, good bye calls home, repair stops, ice collisions, halyard breakages for these gents.

Both were at the front for the entire race. Le Cam led around Cape Horn. Then on January 9th he took a more easterly option than Riou. He lost the lead and never regained it.

Perhaps the message is that if you can prepare properly, you can then settle the terms on professional competence, tactical calls etc.

The problem as we see is getting around the world sans any dramas!

Golding's 3rd Place Race

A cautious start

16th across the starting line, Ecover finished the coastal leg in fifth place.

The race got underway at a rapid speed, because of the sheer pace set by the favourites, Le Cam and Jourdain and the some young guns, Thomson and Josse. The wind was northerly and the speed was on towards Cape Finisterre. Mike glided along in his Owen Clarke design with three other boats of the newest generation (Sill et V�olia, Bonduelle and Virbac Paprec in the lead, as they passed the Western tip of Spain. Off the coast of Portugal the fleet really put on the speed and the boats surfed along in a 6-8 metre swell. Without making any noise, Mike was ready to pounce. He passed Gibraltar in 5th position. The island of Madeira was the next milestone and Mike headed west to get into third place 50 miles astern of the leader, Riou. After 6 days of racing, Mike brought up the rear of a small group of 6 racers at the front 300 miles from the Cape Verde Islands. His position to the west was not much help and it was 180 miles behind that Mike ended the first week of the race, remaining cautious and worrying about getting distanced. �I�m a little disappointed by the little I have gained from my position off to the west, but I�m keeping up and I know that have one of the best boats in the fleet at my disposal.�

To the west of the Doldrums.

It was from around 100 miles behind that Golding crossed through the Doldrums, still sticking to his westerly option. On 18th November, he crossed the Equator in 5th place. Mike overtook his compatriot Alex Thomson during the night. �11 days, 2 hours and 58 minutes to reach the Equator! It is without doubt the fastest race I�ve ever been in.� The south easterly trade wind was there to meet him and Golding, up until then the furthest west of the fleet, chose to cross straight through and got on the windward side of the fleet just behind S�bastien Josse, the youngest entrant in the race and third in the rankings. On 20th November, Ecover was sailing off Natal (Brazil) and Mike experienced his first satellite connection problems. He rounded the St. Helena high in the middle of a group of 6 competitors led by the duo of Le Cam-Riou.

Caught in the trap.

The St. Helena high left a gap through to the southerly latitudes. The first four in the fleet, still led by Jean Le Cam made it through. But the high built up again as the two British yachtsmen Alex Thomson and Mike Golding were sailing through. Their speed dropped off and they fell back to 270 miles. Alex tried a daring move. He went right off the direct route and tried to get around the west of the high. Mike stayed there suffering, making slow headway under gennaker. The elastic was stretching out at the front to the benefit of Vincent Riou, the new leader and Jean Le Cam. Mike was with Roland Jourdain and S�bastien Josse, the great loser during this third week of racing. �It�s really frustrating,� he admitted. �So much work to keep up and in vain. Jean and Vincent have made it through to a different weather system. It�s going to be long and tough to try to get back up with them. � On 27th November, Mike managed to hop on to the rear of a low pressure system. He started to pick up speed from the rear of a group of 5 leaders heading towards the Cape of Good Hope. On 30th November, he passed to the north of Tristan da Cunha some 600 miles astern of PRB.

The depressive forties �

The arrival in the roaring forties was quite a shock. 6-metre swells and 55- knot gusts. The leaders turn on the speed and Mike accomplished a fine day on the first of December covering 410 miles. In horrendous seas, he narrowed the gap to 440 miles. Mike was cautious, but could not stop his Ecover from accelerating away. �I was on the phone with my wife, when the speedo showed 31 knots!� He crossed the longitude of the Cape of Good Hope on 3rd December after 26 days, 4 hours and 13 minutes racing, or almost 48 hours after Jean Le Cam. However, the improvement was not to last. The low-pressure system overtook Ecover and left her in a wind hole in the transition zone, with light airs and dreadful seas. Le Cam made off again and behind him the punishment was dished out. On 5th December Golding dropped back a record 811 miles astern of the leader. To the north of Crozet, Mike no longer knew what to think about his Ecover: �I�m missing my weather info, because my F 77 is down, and I get the feeling I�m always going where I shouldn�t.� �

The slow climb back

After the historic 811 miles astern of the leader, Mike Golding tried to sail cleanly and smoothly by hopping on to each low-pressure area. By the seventh of December, he had reached the fifties and managed some great days covering more than 370 miles. When he spotted an iceberg, he decided to head back up northwards a little. He was chasing after S�bastien Josse�s fourth place. The two men were neck and neck 30 miles north of the Kerguelens. The sea was horrible and the speed regularly above 25 knots. �Avoid breaking anything at all costs!� The gang of five got together again as they approached Australia. Fighting it out with Josse, Mike reached Cape Leeuwin on 15th December after 37 days, 20 hours and 58 minutes of fighting. He won back 470 miles on the leader. The five frontrunners, Riou, Le Cam, Jourdain, Josse and Golding were within 250 miles of each other, as they approached Tasmania. �I�m back� announced Golding, �We�re all sailing once again in the same weather system.� On 17th December, victim of a damaged keel, Roland Jourdain retired and handed over third place to S�bastien Josse.

A chase across the Pacific

Le Cam was chasing Riou, while 285 miles to their west, Golding stepped up the pressure on S�bastien Josse. However, the Pacific was to offer them something very surprising: headwinds. This is a situation that Ecover adores. Mike was getting ready to face a difficult Christmas week; a huge area of icebergs was spotted on either side of Macquarie Island. In the cold and damp, Mike was sailing just 3 short miles astern of S�bastien Josse. A few hours later, he seized third place by maintaining a good bearing and speed. The Horn is 3500 miles ahead. �I hope to be battling it out with the leaders between now and then.� On 23rd December, S�bastien Josse clinging on 25 miles astern of Golding hits a growler. He broke his jib boom and will have to complete the rest of the Vend�e Globe on reduced power. In the middle of the icebergs, Mike continued his fight back. �I want to round The Horn less than 200 miles astern to stay in with a chance of winning� he explained on Christmas Day. Just like Jean Le Cam, he dived south and won back 100 miles in 24 hours from Vincent Riou, stubbornly stuck up to the north, far from the icebergs. An excellent week for Golding, who obtained the fastest daily averages on several occasions, covering more than 370 miles each day. �The temperature inside the boat has fallen to 0�� Mike said on the morning of 28th December, as he spotted another iceberg. The next day, Ecover was within 30 miles of Vincent Riou�s PRB and refusing to let go. Le Cam�s southerly option continued to pay off and Jean extended his lead to 312 miles on 31st December.

Hopes fulfilled and hopes dashed in the Atlantic

On Tuesday 4th January, Mike rounded Cape Horn after 57 days and 13 hours racing, less than 24 hours behind Le Cam and only 4 and a half hours after Riou. Mike achieved the best performance between the Cape Of Good Hope and the Horn covering the distance in 31 jours. Jean fell into a quiet transition zone and saw his two chasers coming ever closer in a south westerly flow. A long 6600-mile race began. The three boats were less than 100 miles apart. Jean chose the east, or the right hand side, which he stuck with all the way to the Bay of Biscay. Mike was in the centre and Vincent to the west. On 9th January, the boats were only 5.4 miles apart and it was Riou, who took control. Mike nibbled back 250 miles from the leader after the Horn and was in second place. He was the fastest in the fleet and seemed likely to get into first place when his mainsail collapsed on the deck. The halyard had just broken and Mike had to climb the mast to repair it. The punishment was a loss of 48 miles. Mike goes on the attack again in the thunderstorms. On 12th January he seized the lead in the middle of the afternoon to become the fourth leader in this Vend�e Globe including the brief appearance of Jean Pierre Dick at the start of the race.
13 hours later, Riou once again grabbed back the lead. Mike had stayed for too long in the thundery low. Then catastrophe struck 24 hours later. His mainsail halyard broke again. This time the punishment was more severe: Riou made off in the trade winds and extended his lead to 228 miles two days later.

Back in the North Atlantic

On 23rd January, in the middle of the afternoon, Mike Golding reached the North Atlantic. After 73 days, 9 hours and 28 minutes of racing, he was 190 miles astern of the leader Riou. Mike narrowed the gap on Le Cam to around fifty miles in the north easterly trade winds. Riou put a spurt on and kept his lead above 120 miles. Sailing close-hauled on difficult seas, the three men headed north.

The final sprint :

A huge high-pressure area (1045 hpa) is sitting to the west of Ireland. It stretches right out to the Azores. Riou was sailing on the western edge. Le Cam and Golding were sailing upwind trying to shorten the journey. Riou picked up some more pressure and took advantage of the hasty move by his rivals. He extended his lead over Ecover to 220 miles. Riou is in control of his destiny. He heads further north and waits for the wind to come around so he can sail on the port tack towards victory. Mike was still hoping right up to the finish. The centre of the high could still take PRB prisoner. He was fighting it out upwind in variable winds, which were really tough on his nerves. The choppy seas stopped him from letting his boat fly. The wheel was turning in Riou�s favour. The wind is coming straight at Mike and he has to change tack twice, putting an end to his hopes of catching Le Cam. �It looks like third place.� he accepted. �However, it was a great race, where I really enjoyed myself. We�ll talk about the broken halyards some other time.�

Vendee Globe Report 4 February

Whilst we go about our daily routines 20 lone sailors are racing around the world without a stop.

Each weekday ATWOS will present a report on the 2004-2005 Vendee Globe race. Who will join Lamazou, Desjoyeaux etc. as winners? Who will be a breakout young star like Ellen Macarthur? Which sailors will participate in dramas such as those of Pete Goss & Yves Parlier?

The report will cover the rhythm of the race, whether it's fast or slow, what's the degree of difficulty, is it iceberg territory?

Each day we'll check the standings to see who the leaders are and who else is on the move.

The fleet roundup will cover news of interest from any and all boats both the success's and the inevitable failures.

From the lone sailors will highlight the most interesting communications from the multi national group of sailors.

Rhythm of the Race Mike Golding ""I'm OK at the moment, but I might not be."

Standings 1st PRB 87 Days 10 Hours 2nd Bonduelle 87 Days 17 Hours 3rd Ecover 88 days 15 hours 4th Temenos 851 miles to the finish

Fleet Round Up Golding takes 3rd after keel problems. 10 race on. Golding jinx. Blow by Blow. Dramatic finish

From the Lone Sailors Mike Golding "I drove the boat pretty hard in the Southern Ocean and that was actually period I enjoyed of the race, it was a period of very rewarding sailing, it was very fast. I can remember that there was one particular time when I was on the phone to my wife and I was doing about 30 knots." "�Everything about this race is excactly what I came back to it for. That is until the keel came off yesterday afternoon, which is a weird thing to say, and now I just feel lucky to finish. Lucky to be third and lucky to still have my boat. The boat has taken care of me. I�m just happy to be here."

Ecover under reduced canvas after losing her keel
Credits: JON NASH / ECOVER

Orange II A Capricorn

Orange II has just finished her 10th day at sea on the level of the Tropic of Capricorn. Away from Rio de Janeiro, the maxi catamaran added 529 miles down to the Souther seas what makes her account from the start around 4900 nm.

Her average speed over the last 24 hours is about 22 knots and her average speed from Ushant is more than 20 knots.

At this rhythm, her advance on her two virtual competitors goes up to 764 and 629 miles! Orange II is not far from the positions reached by these two teams in 2004 after 12 days of race.

From now, Orange II, like did Cheyenne and Geronimo last year, will start the great turn orchestrated by the Ste Helene high. And gradually, she will direct her twin stems towards the Cape of Good Hope...

Day : 10
Date : 02/03/2005
Time (GMT) : 10h04
Latitude : 23 18.36' S
Longitude : 28 24.04' W
Speed over 24h : 22 kts
Dist. covered in 24h : 529 nm
Speed from start : 20.4 kts
Dist. from start : 4886 nm
Dist. to finish : 20019.30 nm
Distances in the 10th day :
- record J.Verne : +764 nm (ahead)
- absolute record : +629 nm

Lack of Wind

KEY DATA DAY 68 0710 GMT:
Distance ahead: 910 miles
Time ahead: 2 days 15 hours [representing 52.50% of time remaining] calculated using the time it took for Joyon to get to the same Distance to Finish as Ellen's current position

OMEGA: Official timekeeper for Ellen MacArthur

Lat/Long: 41 33 N / 025 18 W (200 miles N Azores / 735 miles E by N Vigo, Portugal)
Average Boat speed: 6.83 knots (heading NNE)
True Wind speed: 5.6 knots (direction NW by N)
Distance sailed so far: 26,288 miles at an average speed of 16.1 knots
(data communicated by Thrane MiniC via BT Business Broadband)

ETA: [Estimated Time of Arrival is based on the latest weather information available to the team today, as the weather evolves the ETA will be updated. This refers to crossing the finish line, arrival in Falmouth would be 7 to 14 hours later]
Earliest: Monday
Average: Tuesday
Latest: Wednesday

Update based on data recorded 0710 GMT...check http://www.teamellen.com for the latest data updated hourly

IN BRIEF:

* SOLO RECORD DEMANDING FULL VERSE AND CHAPTER from MacArthur as the final stages of her solo, non-stop round the world record unfold. She has had endure a night of little to no wind as boat speeds rarely topped 1 knot [1 nautical mile per hour, 1.15 mph, 1.85 km/h] of speed for a six hour period and then, this weekend, she will possibly have to face a northerly gale gusting up to 40 knots with very rough seas. As expected, B&Q's lead has fallen to 2 days and 15 hours this morning [200 miles north of the Azores and 735 miles west of Vigo, Portugal], losing 11 hours in the last 24 hour period as <> only managed 154 miles of distance towards the finish. <> has now sailed 26,288 miles at an average speed of 16.1 knots and there are 946 miles left on the clock requiring an average VMG [Velocity Made Good towards the finish] of 7.9 knots, current VMG at 0710gmt this morning is 7.1 knots. The early part of the night offered MacArthur no reprieve and sleep became impossible as the total lack of wind meant the autopilot alarms were constantly going off - unable to hold on as the wind data goes round in circles and lack of boat speed means no steerage left - leaving MacArthur evenly more deeply fatigued and seething with frustration [a bruised fist and broken mp3 player resulted!]. This solo attempt is demanding everything from her and the 75ft multihull <>. If they can hold it together they have a good chance of reaching the finish line off Ushant by Tuesday. But as Mike Golding's spectacular finish to his solo Vend�e Globe race has proven [he lost his keel 40 miles from the finish in Les Sables d'Olonne but managed to keep the boat upright and cross the finish line early this morning in a much deserved 3rd place, http://www.vendeeglobe.fr] - it isn't over, until its over...

* IS MACARTHUR'S LEAD ENOUGH TO GET HER THROUGH? Yes, definitely, if she can get into the stronger wind soon. The latest boat data for 0800gmt shows wind speeds nudging over five knots suggesting she might be already seeing signs of new breeze ahead of schedule, as the forecast is for very light 5 knots to develop from the north from 1200gmt today. There are three distinct weather phases for MacArthur to get through to the finish line off Ushant: phase 1 - clear the light winds of the high pressure some time today to get into fresher breeze from the north; phase 2 - survive a northerly gale over the weekend delivering 30-35 knots of breeze, gusts of 40, and very, very rough seas - potentially boat-breaking conditions and extreme conditions for MacArthur; phase 3 - hook into more favourable south-east winds off north-west Spain to reach [wind at 90 degrees ie side on to the boat] to the finish line, although some weather files show this becoming very light as Ushant approaches. Latest routing shows that as the northerly breeze kicks in, <> tack will tack on to port to head east towards Cape Finisterre, north west tip of Spain, before tacking back on to starboard as the breeze veers into the south-east to head for Ushant. Once in a more stable weather system of low pressure [albeit a gale!], the prediction of when MacArthur is expected to arrive, technical issues aside, can be made with greater confidence. But for now the best guess for her arrival is Tuesday.

* JOYON WAS HAVING A BAD DAY TOO! Francis was about to have a terrible 24 hours, on this same day of his attempt, managing just 162 miles distance towards the finish. But then his luck turned as the weather went in his favour allowing him to make an exceedingly fast dash to the line. With <> advance measured without taking in to account the future miles of IDEC, its worth noting these Distance Made Good numbers [see Joyon data below] as they will have a big impact on reducing the Time Ahead data on the website...

WEATHER ANALYSIS FROM COMMANDERS' WEATHER 0600 GMT:

In the rules of record attempts, skippers are allowed to use the advice of shore-based weather experts to assist them with their choices. Ellen is working with two teams, principally Commanders Weather in the USA, backed up by Meeno Schrader in Germany.

Still very slow going for Ellen next 6-12 hours as she negotiates a small cell of high pressure not far away. But a much bigger high pressure system now in the central Atlantic near 51n 40w will be building eastward over the next 1-2 days. By midday Sat expect the center of the high to be centered near 52n 29w.

Initially this high will begin to freshen Ellen's winds slightly late Friday afternoon or evening up towards 10 kts. By daybreak Sat speeds likely in the 15-20 kt range and by Saturday evening likely 25-30 kts with stronger gusts. The wind direction for the most part will be northerly so Ellen will have to play it tight to the wind to get home.

There likely will be one last period of gale force winds overnight Saturday night into early Sunday as the wind gradient strengthens between the big high and developing low pressure near Cape Finisterre. Winds likely will gust utoward 40 kts and seas will be building to 15-20 feet. This will be a very rough period for Ellen.

But diminishing winds Sunday and clocking to E-SE by Monday should allow Ellen to have a more comfortable finish to her long journey.

Wind forecasts
Wind directions are TRUE, wind speed in kts, time is UTC

Fri, Feb 4
09: 320-340/ 4-7
12: 320-340/ 4-8, near 42 n/25 w Bubble high just to your W
18: 320-340/ 6-10
Partly cloudy to mostly cloudy, maybe a brief, squally shower or 2

Sat, Feb 5 - BECOMING VERY ROUGH LATE DAY AND NIGHT
00: 350-010/10-15
06: 360-020/15-20
12: 350-010/20-25, near 44N/20 W
18: 340-360/25-32
Cloudy to partly cloudy - squally showers likely with gusts to 40 kts overnight
Seas building to 12-18 feet at night.

Sun, Feb 6 - VERY ROUGH
00: 350-010/26-34, gust 40
06: 360-020/24-32, gust 40
12: 010-030/24-32, gust 35, near 45 N/13 W
Want to be up near or north of 45 if possible
18: 030-050/22-30 g 35
Lots of clouds and more squally showers likely - gusts to 35-40 kts likely
Seas 16-22 feet but subsiding pm/night.

http://www.commandersweather.com

FRANCIS JOYON 24 HOUR RUNS

Francis Joyon's 24 hour runs. These are VMG distances, ie distance sailed towards the finish, not through the water:

26.1.05 IDEC 162 miles / B&Q 388 miles
27.1.05 IDEC 130 miles / B&Q 367 miles
28.1.05 IDEC 232 miles / B&Q 258 miles
29.1.05 IDEC 257 miles / B&Q 317 miles
30.1.05 IDEC 300 miles / B&Q 374 miles
31.1.05 IDEC 299 miles / B&Q 398 miles
1.2.05 IDEC 278 miles / B&Q 412 miles
2.2.05 IDEC 221 miles / B&Q 305 miles
3.2.05 IDEC 212 miles / B&Q 154 miles
4.2.05 IDEC 162 miles
5.2.05 IDEC 284 miles
6.2.05 IDEC 383 miles
7.2.05 IDEC 400 miles
8.2.05 IDEC 439 miles
9.2.05 IDEC 345 miles
[dates normalised to Ellen's]

Toronto Show good For Spirit of Canada

The Toronto International Boat Show was again a great success for Spirit of Canada. For me, the boat show is a time to see old friends and meet new ones. It is very humbling for me to meet so many people that followed us around the world in the last race and who are interested in helping us do it again in the Open 60. I feel privileged to be representing Canada in this high level international competition and we are determined to do our best with the goal being to win the 5-Oceans 2006/07.

I want to thank the more than 200 new AroundTogether team members that put their names on the hull of the new Open 60 during the show. The AroundTogether Campaign forms the backbone of the grassroots fundraising efforts. A number of existing AroundTogether team members increased their levels of support by donating the difference between levels and utilized this contribution to receive the team vest or a ride on the boat.

When talking with corporate sponsors, the AroundTogether campaign is what intrigues them the most and catches their interest with regard to our fundraising efforts. They are very impressed with the large number of people that support us by putting their name on the hull and becoming a crew member.

I would like to thank the many volunteers that came to the show to help out in the booth. Without you, we would not be able to tell the many folks that are so interested in what Spirit of Canada is about.

The new Open 60 keel fin from Decoma International was the hit of the booth as people came by to see this exceptional piece of kit. The keel will contribute greatly to the overall performance of the boat and as with the keel system on the previous Spirit of Canada Open 40, will help us be as competitive as can be.

Next up in the busy schedule is the Vancouver Boat Show from February 9th to the 13th and then the Halifax Boat Show from 17th to the 20th of February. Please drop by and see us if you are on either coast during these dates.

The construction of the tooling for the Open 60 continues and shortly I will be doing a full update on the status of the build site along with an invitation to come and see the new Spirit of Canada taking shape on the moulds.

Take Care
Derek

New Instrument Covers

Taylor Made Products has introduced a new family of rugged marine instrument covers designed to protect boat electronics from rain and spray.

Available in vinyl and Rip/Stop fabrics, the instrument covers come with elastic-fitted bottoms for a secure fit and reinforced air vents that permit moisture to escape. The Rip/Stop fabric is a washable, breathable polyester with a polyurethane coating.

The Taylor Made instrument covers are available in a variety of sizes to fit standard electronic devices, such as fish finders, depth sounders and VHF radios.

Taylor Made also offers a wide selection of seat covers in the vinyl and Rip/Stop fabrics, in colors to match the instrument covers.

Good Sense re PFD's

The new racing rules have an interesting entry in the fundamental rules: Rule 1.2 Life-Saving Equipment and Personal Buoyancy

A boat shall carry adequate life-saving equipment for all persons on
board, including one item ready for immediate use, unless her class rules make some other provision. Each competitor is individually responsible for wearing personal buoyancy adequate for the conditions.

That seems a reasonable, balanced approach. It puts some responsibility on the owner. For instance I'd say those over the head orange life jackets are not adequate for sailing. Carry the vest type or better yet inflatables. It puts onus on the individual by leaving the wearing of equipment up to the individual.

Maybe this could be adopted universally, for all boating?

Golding Late Race Keel Problems

With under 50 miles to the finish and a 3rd place finish Mike Golding's Ecover has suffered major keel problmes. Reports indicate that like Nick Moloney, Golding's keel has fallen off. This incident is similar to Catherine Chabaud's late race dismasting in the previous Vendee Globe.

Golding is not entirely certain exactly how much if any keel remains. He is heading to the finish sailing under storm jib alone. Ecover is making 4.6 knots. Golding has likely filled the water ballast tanks for stability. If I was him I'd not just have the sheet in hand, but a knife for an emergency ease!

Golding's Open 60 career has been filled with ill luck. Events include: a grounding when leading Around Alone, a dismasting in the 2000 Vendee Globe and breaking his main halyard 3 times since Cape Horn in this race. Considering this it almost goes to figure that Golding would have this occur so close to the finish.

OQ Gleanings

The Oryx Quest around the world race starts Saturday from Qatar. Here are some gleanings from the rules and regs for this second ever race between Race Class cats.

Often times people wonder, what's the prize for winning sailboat race x. Most times the answer is a trophy or a brag flag. Not this time. Winning boat receives: $1,000,000.

The Amundsen Trophy
To be awarded to the first boat to pass the Amundsen Gate located at 163� west the longitude where Amundsen set his winter basecamp �Framheim� on Antarctica until he left for the South Pole.

Fittingly this gate is in the barren South Pacific.

How about a Cook Trophy for either A. the boat that sails to the farthest south latitude? or B. Hits 71 degrees or farther south as Cook did sailing Resolution on his second voyage.

1 IMPORTANT NOTICE
Ocean Racing can be dangerous.

Send Lawyers, guns and money...eventually it will hit the fan!

Here's the official course:

5 COURSE AND DISTANCE
Doha light vessel port Qatar
Qatar Light Vessel starboard Qatar
Sirri Island port The Gulf
Bu Rashid starboard Hormuz
Kachalu starboard Hormuz
Jazirat Musandam starboard Hormuz
Cape Leeuwin port Australia
Tasmania port Australia
South Island port New Zealand
Antarctica starboard Southern Ocean
Cape Horn port Chile
Lobos Island starboard Uruguay
Bajo de Lobos Island starboard Uruguay
Island of Mauritius port Indian Ocean
Jazirat Musandam port Hormuz
Kachalu port Hormuz
Bu Rashid port Hormuz
Sirri Island starboard. The Gulf
Qatar light vessel port Qatar
Doha Light Vessel starboard Qatar
Distance approximately 23,000 miles

Interesting that there is still a light vessel near Qatar.

23,000 miles is a bit shorter than a course that starts in Europe. There could be a winning time of under 60 days.

19 OUTSIDE HELP "and that the time spent on the anchor, or moored, or attached to another boat, or berthed at a harbour etc. shall be a minimum of 24 hours."

You can stop, but it'll cost your team a day....

In addition to sailing crews have other responsibilities:

6.2 Each boat shall attempt to achieve MINIMUM levels of media output
these being:
6.2.1 compressed video footage � 5 minutes weekly
6.2.2 live video conference � 3 minute session, three times weekly

These boats are high tech. Still there are some things you should never leave port with such as : "two buckets of stout construction each with at least 9 litres (2 UK gallons, 2.4 US gallons) capacity in each hull with accommodation. Each bucket to have a lanyard."

Imagine if a lack of a bucket cost you the million dollar prize...?

5.05 Knife
A knife, one shall be supplied to each crew member which should be
worn on the person at all times.

The knife ancient and perhaps the ultimate in elegant simplicity. Don't sleep without it!

With that and more off the big multis go.....

Mike Golding: Priority is Personal Safety

Golding is currently heading north at a boat speed of 5 knots. The weather forecast will remain North Easterly until Saturday when it will then shift to a South Westerly course. The conditions are 20-22 knots with a light chop that is not helping the boats progress. Golding�s priorities are as follows:

� His personal safety
� The boat�s safety
� To complete the race

Golding has confirmed that the keel has broken off below the bearings. The keel head is still attached to the boat. The ballast tanks are full with approximately 3.5 tonnes of water.

His sail plan consists of a staysail and �mini� reef (a heavily reefed main sail which serves to balance the boat so that Golding can sail to windward).

Currently Golding is unable to tack the boat (turn it through the wind) but can gybe it (turning the boat away from the wind).

Golding is feeling very strong and mentally solid. He is focussing his efforts (in accordance with the aforementioned priorities) on completing the course.

Golding Keel Release

This afternoon at 1400hrs GMT British skipper Mike Golding reported from on board his Open 60 Ecover that he was having problems with his keel. There is no immediate danger and the skipper is still racing, lying in third place in the 2004-2005 Vendee Globe solo round the world race.

At 1500hrs Golding had 52.4 miles to the finish line. It is understood that he has lowered his sails other than for a small trinquette headsail, and has filled his ballast tanks to try to maintain some stability in the boat, and has been making about 2.1 knots upwind.

Golding made the call to his shore-crew who were awaiting his finish this evening and , Leaving at approximately 1700hrs, they have taken their 67 foot steel Challenge class yacht Ecover 67 out to Golding's location to stand by. They are expected to meet up with the skipper and his boat at between 2200hrs GMT tonight and 0100hrs early tomorrow morning.

The French Gendarmerie Nationale�s 40-metre patrol boat �L'Ep�e� is also heading to the area to stand by. Golding is determined to finish the race un-assisted. At 15h00 GMT, the fourth placed boat, Temenos, was over 900 miles from the finish.

"We are interested only in securing the situation, standing by and only
watching to ensure that Mike is safe." commented Vendee Globe race director
Denis Horeau.

Official details just released by Mike Golding Yacht Racing state:
�It has been confirmed that Ecover has lost her keel and is sailing with full ballast and Golding remains determined to finish the race.

Golding is currently heading north at a boat speed of 5 knots. The weather forecast will remain North Easterly until Saturday when it will shift to a South Westerly direction. The conditions, 20 to 22 knots with a slight chop that is not hampering the boat�s progress.

Golding�s priorities are as follows:
1.His personal safety
2.The boat�s safety
3.To complete the race.

Golding has confirmed that the keel has broken below the bearings. The head of the keel is still attached to the boat. The ballast tanks are full with approximately 3.5 tonnes of water.

His sail plan consists of a staysail and �mini� reef (a heavily reefed mainsail which serves to balance the boat so that Ecover can sail to windward).

Currently Golding is unable to tack the boat (to turn the bow through the wind to change direction) but can gybe (turning the boat away from the wind where its stern passes through the wind)

Golding is feeling very strong and mentally solid. He is focusing his efforts on the three main priorities noted above.�

Sweden to host AC act

The America�s Cup is coming to Sweden! Malm�, in the Sk�ne region at the south of Sweden, will be the Northern European location for the Louis Vuitton Acts 6 & 7, with racing beginning on the 25th of August, 2005. The back-to-back events, featuring both Match and Fleet Racing are among 14 opening Acts of the 32nd America�s Cup.

Malm�, supported by the regional district of Sk�ne, is a tremendous location for sailing in Northern Europe, as the America�s Cup continues holding events across Europe in 2005, before settling in its Host City of Valencia, Spain for 2006 and 2007.

�We are very pleased to be able to bring these two Louis Vuitton Acts to Malm� and Sk�ne,� said Michel Bonnefous, the CEO of the America�s Cup organisers. �This is a perfect fit for us. As with the America�s Cup, Malm� is a seamless blend of t radition along with embracing the most modern and cutting edge technology at the same time. And most importantly, the region of Northern Europe and Scandinavia has a population that is passionate about the sea and about sailing. There are 60 yacht clubs in the area and over 50 000 yachts in the region, so I�m very excited we are coming here this summer.�

For the city, the Malm�-Sk�ne Louis Vuitton Acts 6 & 7 will be an opportunity to engage with one of the world�s largest sporting events, and the oldest trophy in sport.

�Bringing the America�s Cup here means the event will be right in the heart of the city. The race village will be built within a few minutes walk of downtown Malm�,� said Ilmar Reepalu, Chairman of the City Executive Board. �The two race course areas are also right off the town on the Lommabukten (the bay directly off Malm�). This is good for the spectators ashore and on the water, as well as for the teams who can be sailing on the race course within mi nutes of leaving the dock.�

The agreement bringing the Louis Vuitton Acts to Malm� is supported by the region of Sk�ne, the southernmost area in Sweden. Sk�ne is among the most dynamic regions in Northern Europe and with close ties to Copenhagen and continental Europe, can boast of 20-million people within a one-hour plane flight.

�For us, the America�s Cup in Sk�ne is an opportunity to showcase the many attractions of our region,� said Uno Aldegren, President of the Regional Executive Board. �Whether it�s our 400-kilometres of beaches, the many food and cultural experiences available, or the best of city and country life that can be enjoyed here, I know the America�s Cup is going to enjoy its time here as much as we will enjoy hosting the Louis Vuitton Acts.�

The Malm�- Sk�ne Louis Vuitton Act 6, a Match Racing regatta begins on the 25th of August, 2005. It is followed directly by Act 7, a three-day Fleet Racing event on the 2nd September, 2005.

Team Daedalus

The Team Bullimore racing yacht Daedalus was designed for long distance ocean-racing by the world famous naval architect Nigel Irens. Daedalus was the first boat to break the 500 mile a day barrier and held the prestigious Jules Verne round the world sailing record of 74 days, 22 hours and 18 minutes. The yacht has recently undergone a major refit when modifications to improve boat performance and the overall speed were carried out. Last year, Tony Bullimore, with a world class crew, set two Atlantic sailing records, ratified by the WSSRC (World Sailing Speed Record Council), the Gomero, Canary Islands, to Port St Charles, Barbados and the Montego Bay, Jamaica, to Lands End, United Kingdom. Capable of speeds up to 40 kts, Daedalus will have a competitive edge when competing in the Oryx Quest 2005 non stop round the world race.

Crew List

Skipper, Tony Bullimore, United kingdom
Watch Leader, Goncalo O'Neill, Portuguese
Watch Leader (Co-navigator), Nick Leggatt, South Africa
Crew, Mike Inglis, United Kingdom
Crew, Ian Munslow, United Kingdom
Crew, James Dunning, United Kingdom
Crew, Simon Redding, United Kingdom
Crew, Nick Bubb, United Kingdom

Geronimio Crew Named for Oryx Quest

The three remaining crew members of Geronimo were confirmed today as the teams make final preparations for the Oryx Quest 2005 race start on Saturday. Completing the line-up and embarking on their first round-the-world event aboard the all-French trimaran will be Lucas Zammcnik, Jean Charles Corre and Arnaud Boissi�re.

The fastest and most advanced sailing vessels in the world require top-class crews and Geronimo's skipper, Olivier de Kersauson, believes he now has just that. His 11-man ensemble are all very experienced sailors and, apart from the three new additions, have all circumnavigated the globe at least once on Geronimo and together sailed from Brest, France, to Qatar.

"Getting here was a bit of a trial," said de Kersauson. "No wind and no poetry � just hard and laborious work. [But] we can't wait to measure ourselves against these crews under the same conditions. These crews are serious customers with real experience, sailing boats that have risen to some of the greatest challenges in the world."

Continuity and loyalty are the trademarks of Olivier de Kersauson and both come through clearly in the composition of his crew. Yves Pouillaude, his right-hand man for over 20 years, has decided to stay ashore this time, and it's Pierre Corriveaud who steps up to take his place as Watch Captain, after twice circling the globe on Geronimo. And for good measure, Franck Ferey, another two-time circumnavigator on board the Capgemini and Schneider Electric-sponsored trimaran, takes over the same duties for the second watch. Olivier de Kersauson and Didier Ragot, perhaps the most faithful of all the faithful, will work outside the watch system.

The Geronimo crew:

Olivier de Kersauson, Skipper
Didier Ragot, Mate and tactician
Pierre Corriveaud, Watch Captain
Franck Ferey, Watch Captain
Xavier Briault
Armand Coursodon
Philippe Laot
Rodolphe Jacq
Antoine Deru
Jean Charles Corre
Arnaud Boissi�re
Lucas Zamecknick

Embarking on their first round-the-world event with Geronimo:
- Lucas Zamecnik, 29, was born in Paris � this is his first circumnavigation

- Jean Charles Corre, 32, was born in Lorient, lives in Tahiti, and has arrived via an unusual route, since he�s also a merchant navy officer

- Arnaud Boissi�re, 32, comes from Bordeaux, is a geography graduate and has competed in many events, including two mini-Transats and three Figaros, and helped prepare Aquitaine Innovation.

Congressional Cup Gains Sponsor

The Long Beach Yacht Club announced that Acura, the luxury division of American Honda Motor Co., Inc., has signed on as the first major sponsor of the 41st annual Congressional Cup, scheduled April 12-16.

"Acura�s presenting sponsorship is a huge boost for us,� said Kate Banks, chairperson. �Their involvement helps us bring the Congressional Cup to the next level and will make this event more attractive to high quality competitors.�

Dick Colliver, Acura executive vice president, auto sales, said, "This event is a perfect fit for us. The participants are interested in high performance, quality and luxury, which is exactly what Acura provides. We�re hoping our sponsorship will make this event even stronger than it�s been in the past."

As the presenting sponsor, Acura will raise the Congressional Cup purse to $40,000, up from $25,000 last year. The purse increase is expected to attract even more world-class competitors to the event.

The Congressional Cup is the premiere sailing event in Southern California. Since it was launched in 1965 by a Deed of Gift recorded in the U.S. Congress, world-renowned sailors such as Ted Turner, Dennis Conner, Rod Davis, Peter Gilmour, Chris Dickson, Gavin Brady, Peter Holmberg, Dean Barker, Ken Read and Ed Baird have won the Crimson Blazer emblematic of victory in the prestigious event.

A high level of organization has been maintained over the years by a volunteer force of some 300 club members and their families.

Ten teams will compete in a double round-robin of match racing, followed by championship sailoffs, on a race course set adjacent to the city's Belmont Pier, where spectator viewing and commentary will be provided at no charge.

The Long Beach Yacht Club, founded in 1929, last year celebrated its 75th anniversary and has from the beginning sought to encourage future generations of sailors and power boaters. Located on a promontory of Alamitos Bay in the Long Beach Marina, it has a dynamic junior sailing program whose members compete in various youth regattas. There is also a junior swim team and an enthusiastic big game fishing program.

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New VG Record

In addition to 1st place, and a 150,000 Euro prize Vincent Riou has set a new Vendee Globe record of 87 days 6 hours 47 mins 55 secs, average speed 11.28 knots.

This was a gain of 5 days 17 hours 09 mins 37 secs on the time Michel Desjoyeaux set on board the same boat in 2000-2001.

From the 1996 race to the 2000 race the time improved by 12%. From 2000 to 2004 the percentage improvement is 6.1%.

Looked at in terms of records from Around Alone which circles the globe in stages his average speed of 11.28 would be the 2nd highest record average speed.

Riou's record breaks down this way:

Passage of equator (way out): 18 November 2004 at 0300 GMT after 10 days 14 hours and 58 minutes (in 2nd place to Bonduelle)

Passage of the Cape of Good Hope (South Africa): 1st December 2004 at 1420 GMT after 24 days 02 hours and 18 minutes...trailed Bonduelle by 39 miles

Passage of Cape Leeuwin (Australia): 14 December 2004 at 0050 GMT after 36 days 12 hours and 48 minutes...led Bonduelle by 72 miles

Passage of Cape Horn (Chile): on 03 January 2005 at 2045 GMT in 57 days 08 hours and 43 minutes...trailed by 80 miles

Passage of the equator (return): on 19 January 2005 at 0200 GMT after 72 days 13 hours and 58 minutes...ahead by 116 miles

Looking ahead another 6% improvement would mean an 82 day global lap while 12% would mean 76 days...for the 2008-2009 Vendee Globe winner.

Ellen the Greatest?

Writing in The Times Ed Gorman comments about "Ellen MacArthur becoming the greatest of all solo sailors..."

Gorman mentions "her twin victories in transtlantic races and her second place in the Vend�e Globe single-handed round-the-world race four years ago"

He says these, "would give MacArthur an unmatched career performance, taking her past those who inspired her as a child, the knights of British sailing, Sir Francis Chichester, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and Sir Chay Blyth."

I'm a big backer/long time supporter of Ellen's dating back to the run up to her Vendee Globe campaign. Nobody is better than Ellen when it comes to 'grunting up' and 'getting on with it' no matter the circumstances.

Whether she will be the greatest, takes me back to prior to the Vendee Globe. Then her associate Nick Moloney was attempting to become the 1st to: sail the Whitbread/Volvo (fully crewed around the world), Jules Verne (crewed/fastest around the world) and solo around the world. Moloney's goal beacame unmet when he lost his keel off Brazil.

Writing about this I commented, "f Moloney achieves his goal I would put him amongst but not above any of the above sailors. Even a win I don't think makes me rank him above others."

For instance Michel Desjoyeaux has won the Vendee Globe, the Figaro and the Transat. All in different types of boats.

Macarthur's CV would show Transat wins in both directions, a 2nd in an around the world race- all in Open 60's- and an around the world record in a trimaran should she come good.

Does this= the greatest? Well, Desjoyeaux was the winner of the Vendee when Ellen came 2nd. Desjoyeaux also has creds in both monos and tris. And the record that Macarhtur is working to break was set in dramatic fashion by Francis Joyon just last year. I know this statment is eminetly arguable but I'll say a new record won't make Ellen the greatest solo sailor. My crux would be that Desjoyeaux beat her in the Vendee Globe.

�Ellen is 24 miles through a 26-mile marathon, she has hit the �wall�, where energy levels drop to irrecoverable levels, she�s torn a few muscles, has bad blisters, and her shoes are close to falling apart,�

Linky Sailing News

Racing Riou Wins

Records Azores cost Ellen Orange II leads

News Keel worries. VOR 70 builds. Jobson @ Strictly Sail

Great Lakes Who needs a hover craft?

Hellomoto Returns to the North

Elapsed Time: 88 days, 01 hours, 15 mins
Vend�e Globe Winner: PRB (V Riou, FRA), 2nd Bonduelle (J Le Cam FRA)
HELLOMOTO: 8th out of 13, in the Northern Hemisphere!
Equator crossing: 0315 GMT 03 Feb 2005
ETA Finish: 18/02/05

� HELLOMOTO is back in the Northern Hemisphere after crossing the Equator at 0315GMT today, sacrificing some Plymouth Gin for Neptune! (see new onboard photo online)

� At the time of crossing, HELLOMOTO was just 35 miles behind 7th placed Arcelor Dunkerque, which means that Conrad has wiped out a 500 mile deficit since rounding Cape Horn � 15 days ago he was 550 miles behind French skipper Joe Seeten!

� According to Conrad, the notorious Doldrums consisted of �two squalls and half an hour of light upwind stuff � the quickest crossing in my history!� and HELLOMOTO is already sailing upwind in the NE Trades

Conrad Humphreys interview from onboard HELLOMOTO this morning courtesy of Geolink/Iridium:

�I crossed the Equator at 0315GMT, and sacrificed some mini alcohol bottles I had left, I hope Neptune likes Plymouth Gin! I also had a bit of a break through last night just before the Doldrums where I managed to get just about everything under control with the keel. I got pressure into one of the rams so now both rams can push but they can�t pull. I�ve still got a lashing arrangement around the pistons to stop them compressing which works really well but we�ve had some fore and aft movement which was a bit alarming. It wasn�t until last night I bit the bullet and drilled a hole through the aft bulkhead and lashed the anchor behind it, that managed to address the fore and aft movement as well. Currently I�ve got a canted keel which is not rocking, so that�s nice. I hope it is good enough to get me home, we�re on to the right solution� So I�ve had a good 24 hours really. I did this in the middle of the night, before I had my first couple of squalls of the Doldrums, two squalls, a little bit of light upwind stuff and now I think I�m already in the NE Trades, it must be the quickest Doldrums crossing ever!�

�The Azores High is moving a lot so it�s a hard call to know where to position the boat right now so I�m waiting until it stabilises. I�ll be negotiating the high pressure system around the 9th February. There�s a low pressure system forming up over Madeira & the Azores, which will track North and if I can cross the high ridge below it and then catch it, I could cut the corner to the finish�but I�m sailing my own race as always, not too concerned about whether I overtake Joe Seeten or not, I�ll just be happy to finish, whether it�s in 8th or 7th place��

Vendee Globe Report 3 February

Whilst we go about our daily routines 20 lone sailors are racing around the world without a stop.

Each weekday ATWOS will present a report on the 2004-2005 Vendee Globe race. Who will join Lamazou, Desjoyeaux etc. as winners? Who will be a breakout young star like Ellen Macarthur? Which sailors will participate in dramas such as those of Pete Goss & Yves Parlier?

The report will cover the rhythm of the race, whether it's fast or slow, what's the degree of difficulty, is it iceberg territory?

Each day we'll check the standings to see who the leaders are and who else is on the move.

The fleet roundup will cover news of interest from any and all boats both the success's and the inevitable failures.

From the lone sailors will highlight the most interesting communications from the multi national group of sailors.

Rhythm of the Race Vincent Riou: "The Vend�e Globe is an adventure and that�s not something you can forget. You have to prepare yourself for something new. You try to discover where your limits are. It�s a very important human dimension."

Standings 1st PRB 87 Days 10 Hours 2nd Bonduelle 87 Days 17 Hours 3rd Ecover 79 miles from the Finish

Fleet Round Up Riou & PRB win. The winning planetary lap. Classics Division

From the Lone Sailors Vincent Riou: "I didn�t suffer with the solitude but I like the contact with the shore. I spent a lot of time on the telephone. The difficult thing was that I had some hard days but I find it difficult to express my feelings." Jean Le Cam: "When I saw the plane from the army flyover yesterday I was surprised to find myself crying in the cockpit not knowing why. I thought I�d cry a lot at the finish but not at all. I�d already cried so much before." Sebastien Josse: " My routing shows that I�ll finish on the morning of 6 February." Conrad Humphreys: "So I�ve had a good 24 hours really. I did this in the middle of the night, before I had my first couple of squalls of the Doldrums, two squalls, a little bit of light upwind stuff and now I think I�m already in the NE Trades, it must be the quickest Doldrums crossing ever!"

2nd Place Jean Le Cam

Orange means Go

The trade winds remain constant and, as promised by Bruno Peyron this midday, the maxi catamaran continues her Southern route at an intensive pace.

She sails between 20 and 25 knots at an average speed between 20 and 25 knots. That make a more than 500 nautic miles covered per day.

Bruno Peyron, at the beginning of afternoon, recalled us how a navigation under these conditions remained dangerous in order to avoid any sail problem : �On deck, it�s the daily routine. There are currently 8 men out on deck plus Roger Nilson and myself. At the moment, we�re planning to hoist the solent, as the wind has eased off slightly. These are always difficult manoeuvres. We made a slight mistake 3 days ago and managed to rip the staysail a little bit. The sails are heavy, so we don�t have many on board, and we have to pay attention and look after the equipment, as it has to last all the way around the world.�

Orange II is curently 629 miles ahead of Cheyenne's outright recrd.

Azores Extracts Time Toll

KEY DATA DAY 67 0710 GMT:
Distance ahead: 921 miles
Time ahead: 3 days 6 hours [representing 54.17% of time remaining] calculated using the time it took for Joyon to get to the same Distance to Finish as Ellen's current position

OMEGA: Official timekeeper for Ellen MacArthur

Lat/Long: 38 44 N / 026 44 W (15 miles E Terceira, Azores)
Average Boat speed: 0.72 knots (heading ESE)
True Wind speed: 4.2 knots (direction WNW)
Distance sailed so far: 26,102 miles at an average speed of 16.2 knots
(data communicated by Thrane MiniC via BT Business Broadband)

ETA: [Estimated Time of Arrival is based on the latest weather information available to the team today, as the weather evolves the ETA will be updated. This refers to crossing the finish line, arrival in Falmouth would be 7 to 14 hours later]
Earliest: Tuesday
Average: Wednesday
Latest: Thursday

Update based on data recorded 0710 GMT...check http://www.teamellen.com for the latest data updated hourly

IN BRIEF:

* AZORES PUT THE BRAKES ON <> LOSING HOURS ON THE OMEGA CLOCK reducing MacArthur's advantage to 3 days, 6 hours this morning.

* 26,000 MILES SAILED AND STILL JUST OVER 1,000 MILES TO GO, and certainly more miles to sail through the water due to the forecast wind directions.

* LIGHT WINDS, CALM, GALES, ROUGH SEAS still all to come in the remaining few days of MacArthur's solo, non-stop round the world record attempt.

IN DETAIL:

The Azores put the brakes on <> losing hours on the Omega clock and reducing MacArthur's advantage to 3 days, 6 hours this morning - a high price too pay both on the record stakes but also physically for Ellen, who is now beyond exhaustion - only 20 minutes sleep in the last 24 hours, and very little in the preceding days. In order for <> to avoid the possibility of a wind shadow from the island of Sao Miguel to the east (with winds coming from that direction), <> aimed to go through the gap with Terceira on the western side, but equally to stay 15-20 miles off this island as well to avoid local effects. However the 'funnel effect' between the islands, even at 80 miles apart, caused the wind to head <> (come more from the north), forcing her closer in to the island on starboard tack as she approached - too close as it turned out: "Can't believe what we've been through. We stopped for two hours with two knots of breeze from the wrong direction, we were so close to the island. The breeze went into the north-west and we were heading back towards the island, only 14 miles away. We've moved some, we've stopped, we've talked about tacking, we've been taking reefs out, putting reefs in, we've had 22 knots then we've had 4 knots, then 19 knots, the whole **** fight." The boat data at 0710 this morning was grim - boat speed 0.72 knots, True Wind Speed 4.2 knots, True Wind Direction 290 degrees (WNW), 180 degrees opposite of forecast gradient win. Another call came two hours later: "Even since I last called two hours ago we've done 7 gybes [manoeuvre that turns the stern of the boat through the wind, sails switching side, fairly complicated one alone]. The wind was going round in circles, it's back now though. I'm totally drained. I hope the wind doesn't go higher, I don't want to have to change from the genoa [to a smaller headsail]. Somehow I've got to rest...going to ring Commanders and then try and sleep." It's now looking like <> is through as latest boat data shows <> moving at over 11 knots but it's going to get much lighter by tonight as MacArthur negotiates the high pressure system blocking her route ahead.

26,000 miles sailed and still just over 1,000 miles to go, and certainly more miles to sail through the water due to the forecast wind directions, this will be a long round the world. The theoretical distance being around 23,700 miles, the typical voyage being around 26,000 miles, it's a sign of the unhelpful wind conditions in the Atlantic in particular that have pushed up the overal mileage sailed around the course. Joyon passed west of Sao Miguel without slowing down too much - 212 miles Distance Made Good towards the finish today, but slow tomorrow 162 miles but from Saturday the 90ft multihull IDEC picks up the speed and from Sunday his daily mileage averages around the 400 mile mark for the final sprint to the finish line.

Light winds, calm, gales, rough seas all still to come in the remaining few days of MacArthur's solo, non-stop round the world record attempt. The next 24-36 hour period is going to be slow as Ellen negotiates the area of high pressure and by the weekend a strong northerly gale is being forecast - 30-40 knots [Force 8 Gale] and very rough seas. Whatever the outcome, the final stretch is going to be hard - hard on the boat and hard on Ellen. Like a Formula 1 car running on empty, or a runner hitting the wall, these last miles are likely to be the toughest of them all.

WEATHER ANALYSIS FROM COMMANDERS' WEATHER 0600 GMT:

In the rules of record attempts, skippers are allowed to use the advice of shore-based weather experts to assist them with their choices. Ellen is working with two teams, principally Commanders Weather in the USA, backed up by Meeno Schrader in Germany.

Still some obstacles ahead most notably a strong Northerly gale over the weekend. But in the short term a very slow period for Ellen next 24-36 hours as she makes slow progress N-NNE toward weakening high pressure. Winds likely drop down toward 5 kts late Thursday and could become light and variable for a few hours Thursday night. But relief is on the way later Friday, first in the form of a cold front which will freshen winds from the NW-N to 15 kts as the front moves thru late in the day. Then strong high pressure following this front
is going to increase Ellen's wind speeds further to 25-30 kts by midday
Saturday and likely to 30-45 kts. Saturday night coming from a northerly direction. Seas will be increasing to 15-20 feet and it will be very tough conditions beating toward the finish over the weekend. These conditions will be improving Sunday afternoon and night as the high pressure weakens and
moves eastward toward the North Sea. Her wind likely will clock thru the NE
into E and perhaps SE before she reaches the finish line.

Wind forecasts
Wind directions are TRUE, wind speed in kts, time is UTC

Thu, Feb 3- winds still shifty next 2-3 hours
09: bcmg more consistent 100-120/10-14
12: 090-110/12-10, near 40 n/26 30w
18: 080-100/ 10-5
Partly cloudy

Fri, Feb 4 - uncertain wind direction 00-06 utc
00: 080-100/ 3-6
06: lt/variable
12: bcmg 340-020/ 3-6, near 42 30n/25 w North of 43 30 winds more WNW - south of 4330 winds more N
18: 320-340/ 10-15- close to frontal boundary
Partly cloudy to mostly cloudy, maybe a brief shower or 2

Sat, Feb 5- BECOMING VERY ROUGH
00: 360-020/15-20
06: 360-020/18-25
12: 350-010/25-30, near 45 10N/17 30W
18: 350-010/30-40
Cloudy to partly cloudy- squally showers possible. Seas building to 10-15 feet

http://www.commandersweather.com

FRANCIS JOYON 24 HOUR RUNS

Francis Joyon's 24 hour runs. These are VMG distances, ie distance sailed towards the finish, not through the water:

26.1.05 IDEC 162 miles / B&Q 388 miles
27.1.05 IDEC 130 miles / B&Q 367 miles
28.1.05 IDEC 232 miles / B&Q 258 miles
29.1.05 IDEC 257 miles / B&Q 317 miles
30.1.05 IDEC 300 miles / B&Q 374 miles
31.1.05 IDEC 299 miles / B&Q 398 miles
1.2.05 IDEC 278 miles / B&Q 412 miles
2.2.05 IDEC 221 miles / B&Q 305 miles
3.2.05 IDEC 212 miles
4.2.05 IDEC 162 miles
5.2.05 IDEC 284 miles
6.2.05 IDEC 383 miles
7.2.05 IDEC 400 miles
8.2.05 IDEC 439 miles
9.2.05 IDEC 345 miles
[dates normalised to Ellen's]

Riou Wins Vendee Globe

Grey haired, spectacle wearing 33 year old French lone sailor Vincent Riou has won the Vendee Globe. He crossed the finish line at 23:50:44 French time.

A joyful Vincent Riou

Riou sailing PRB set a new Vendee Globe record of 87 days 6 hours 47 mins 55 secs, average speed 11.28 knots.

Remarkably Riou's boat was the same once that won the 2000-2001 Vendee Globe with Michel Dejoyeaux on board. Riou was 5 days 17 hours 09 mins 37 secs than Desjoyeaux.

Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) has finished second. Finishing at 05h 22m 08secs GMT after 87 days 17 hours 20 minutes 8 seconds, with an average speed of 11.24 knots. He is 6 hours 32 minutes 13 seconds behind Vincent Riou.

In the run up to the Vendee Riou suffered a dismasting during the Transat in June. Sailing an older boat he was considered in with a chance but not a top favorite.

PRB / SKIPPER : VINCENT RIOU (FRA) - BETWEEN ISABELLE AUTISSIER (FRA) AND MICHEL DESJOYEAUX (FRA) THE TWO PREVIOUS SKIPPERS OF PRB COMPANY

Riou was a leader from the start. He topped the rankings on November 8th and was in the lead 29 November. For most of December and early January he trailed Bonduelle by as much as 154 miles. From 11 January on to today's finish Riou has taken the lead despite stiff challenges from Jean Le Cam and Mike Golding.

Riou's record is notable for it's sheer speed and for the fact that the boat was not a brand new one. In 2000-2001 Riou was part of PRB's technical team so certainly from keel bulb to mast head Riou knows this most remarkable Open 60.

Riou joins fellow French sailors Lmazou, Gautier, Augin and Desjoyeaux as winners of the Vendee Globe the only solo non stop around the world sailing race.

Riou's Winning Lap

Les Sables/Equator

At 2 minutes past noon on 7th November, 20 single-handed yachtsmen set out on the fifth edition of the Vend�e Globe. At the end of the line, hoisting his gennaker just before the starting gun fired, Vincent Riou (PRB) was the quickest to cross the line, followed by Bruce Schwab (Ocean Planet). The light north easterly forced the competitors to tack broad reaching to get to the first buoy, which Vincent Riou rounded in second place behind Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec). A short time later, Vincent rounded the final buoy of the 6-mile coastal stretch in the lead. Just like Michel Desjoyeaux in 2000, Vincent won the initial coastal race. And PRB set off again as she had ended the previous race four years before � in the lead.

Setting out at an incredible pace, with daily averages above 300 miles, the leaders passed Cape Finisterre on the second night.

After four days and 3 hours of racing, Vincent Riou smashed the record set by Yves Parlier in 2000 between Les Sables and the Canaries by 1 day and 22 hours. On 13th November, Riou lost the lead in the Vend�e Globe as they approached the Cape Verde Islands. Jean Le Cam reaped the benefits of his easterly option around the Canaries and became the new leader. On the next day, 14th November, Vincent Riou fell to third place for the first and last time. He would never fall below second place again.

The Doldrums, violent and surprising, as usual, did not really slow down Vincent Riou who crossed the Equator 3 hours after Jean Le Cam on 18th November after 10 days and 15 hours sailing.

Equator/Good Hope
For the first time since the start, the south of the St. Helena high slowed them down to less than 10 knots. The first tried to get through a bolt hole between two high-pressure systems. On 25th November, the leaders got away, lleaving their chasers way behind on the other side of the ridge. Vincent and Jean galloped away and relegated Roland Jourdain (Sill et Veolia) in third place to more than 200 miles. Between 24th and 26th November, Vincent Riou and Jean Le Cam alternated the lead each day achieving their lowest averages with only 4.6 knots over 24 hours. On the morning of 26th November off the south west of South Africa, Vincent Riou and Jean Le Cam were neck and neck, less than 200 metres apart. On the same day, Vincent regained the lead for four and a half days. Vincent was the first of the duo to enter the roaring forties on 29th November. The first gale was to hit them the next night. On 1st December, PRB crossed the longitude of the Cape of Good Hope in the lead at 14.20 GMT after 24 days 2h18�, or 4d 6h21� better than Yves Parlier�s record in 2000. Vincent had just covered the 6700 theoretical miles separating Les Sables from the SW tip of South Africa at an average speed of 11.59 knots. On the morning of the same day Vincent Riou gybed at 70� to the route and lost the lead to Jean Le Cam. It was the first real separation of Jean Le Cam and Vincent Riou since the start, apart from the passage through the Cape Verde islands. The rest of the time the skippers had been on parallel courses.

Cape of Good Hope/Cape Leeuwin
Another change of leader on 3rd December. Vincent Riou, to the north, regained the lead for less than a day. On the fourth, Jean Le Cam went ahead again to give up the lead at the Kerguelens. Vincent captured the lead for the sixth time and would keep it for almost 13 days. Vincent and Jean were now more than 570 miles ahead of Roland Jourdain in third place and 811 ahead of Mike Golding (Ecover). The Indian Ocean lived up to its reputation. Gusts of wind above 50 knots are quite common. On 14th December, at 0h50, Vincent Riou passed his second cape in the lead as he crossed the longitude of Cape Leeuwin. After 36 days 11h 48�, Vincent reached Australia reducing the record time set by Michel Desjoyeaux in 2000 by 4 days 12h01�

Cape Leeuwin/Cape Horn

The leaders reached the half-way point on Saturday 18th December. Five solo yachtsmen were within 250 miles of each other, which had never happened in the history of the Vend�e Globe. The entrance into the Pacific was upwind for the leaders on 20th December in 35-40 knot easterlies. On the same day, Vincent Riou lost the lead and the MRCC (Maritime Rescue Cooperation Centre) of New Zealand warned of icebergs 300 miles east of Campbell Island (NZ).
On 22nd December, Jean Le Cam noticed his first icebergs. Further north, Vincent Riou was playing it cautiously and immediately headed off north eastwards to reduce the risk, although this did not stop him from spotting one. Jean took advantage of this to extend his lead. The days and nights on watch out on the deck were long trying to spot the slightest iceberg or growler, which could not be spotted by the radar. Following two different routes, one to the north and the other to the south, the gap between Jean and Vincent widened. In 28 hours, on 25th December, PRB dropped back from 2.2 miles astern to 130 miles astern of Bonduelle. Mike Golding, who was more than 800 miles behind two weeks earlier, came back to within 50 miles of Vincent Riou.
On New Year�s Eve, there was the widest gap between Le Cam and Riou : 264 miles. By arriving at Cape Horn on 3rd January at 05.15 (56d17h13�), Jean Le Cam had a lead of 190 miles and 15h30 over Vincent Riou. However, as soon as he rounded the rock, the wind dropped off and blocked the skipper of Bonduelle, who could only watch helplessly as his two chasers came up closer and closer.

Cape Horn/Equator

The climb back up the Atlantic was slow to start. Since the Horn, Jean Le Cam had not stopped losing ground over Vincent and Mike.
On 6th January, to the north east of the Falklands, Jean Le Cam moved off to the east, following a route 20� different from his opponents. This was the turning point in the race. In heavy seas with tough weather conditions with very violent squalls, the three leaders tried to get out of this hell. Vincent Riou slammed into a wave and his stern came up 10 metres. Vincent just had time to grab his winch. Fortunately, the boat came back down the right way and he only broke a batten. The wind gauge was reaching 75 knots at that moment.
On 9th January, for his 33rd birthday, Vincent won back the lead in the race. The three frontrunners were within 5.4 miles of each other� Mike Golding came back strongly in second place and had his first mainsail halyard breakage, just as he was about to take the lead. The Englishman continued to work hard and captured the lead for the first time on 12th January. Way out to the east at the latitude of Rio de Janeiro, Vincent went on the attack again the next day and took control for the 11th time since the start. The next day, Vincent took advantage of another halyard breakage for Mike Golding and found himself alone out at the front. Vincent crossed the Equator on 19th January at 02.00 after 72 days 13h58�, 127 miles ahead of Jean Le Cam.

Equator/Les Sables

As on the outward leg, Vincent Riou was not really slowed down that much in the Doldrums, which are usually a tricky area because of the violence and sudden appearance of squalls. Jean Le Cam and Mike Golding were slowed down more than Vincent. Jean dropped back on 22nd January 182 miles astern of PRB. However, a high building in their path, to the north of Cape Verde complicated the situation forcing the trio to extend their route to the west. In 3 days, Mike and Jean came back very strongly. Vincent took the safe option by moving away from the centre of the high, while Jean and Mike took a short cut to try to catch Vincent. The distances between them were up and down for several days. From 160 miles, Jean came back to within 30 miles before falling back to 158 miles. With a position 3� in latitude off (180 miles), Vincent Riou tackled the final high before the finish with his usual confidence and serenity. Jean Le Cam came back to lead by 0.7 miles in front of Vincent on Monday 31st January, but Riou stuck to his guns. Vincent reached the change in direction first and soared along towards Les Sables to win a victory that had been so incredibly fought over.

Le Cam's 2nd Place Finish

Jean Le Cam�s race
All times GMT

Les Sables/Equator
After a cautious start, Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) made his way up the field to finish the inshore sprint in third place. Slightly left behind without a big deficit developing, Jean Le Cam fell in step with the record pace in this Vend�e Globe. After six days of racing, Jean Le Cam pulled off a masterstroke with the weather as he approached the Cape Verde Islands, which allowed him to take the lead for the first time on 13th November. The skipper of Bonduelle was the only one of the leaders to round the islands by the east, between the islands and the mainland. In less than 8 days of racing the leader entered the Doldrums and smashed the record between Les Sables and The Equator in 10 days 11h28�, or three and a half days better than the previous reference time.

Equator/Cape Of Good Hope
The route down the South Atlantic began as quickly as the battle down the North Atlantic. Rounding the St. Helena high allowed him to achieve averages of around 14 knots since the start. However, the passage through a bottleneck between two highs slowed the leader down, enabling him to make only 4.6 knots in 24 hours. Jean and Vincent were the only two to make it out of the wind hole quickly, while it was to dash the hopes of 14 of the 20 competitors. Between 24th and 26th November, Jean Le Cam and Vincent Riou alternate first place each day. On 26th November, the incredible happened. After 18 days of sailing, the two leaders were neck and neck in the south of the Atlantic. 2 days later, Jean Le Cam crossed the Greenwich meridian and entered the roaring forties. On 30th November the leading duo experienced their first gale with winds between 30 and 50 knots and 6 metre troughs. Jean passed the Cape of Good Hope in second place after 24 days at sea on 1st of December.

Cape of Good Hope/Cape Leeuwin
On this same day, the rough and threatening seas forced Vincent Riou to gybe to the north east, leaving Jean Le Cam alone on his direct route in the south east. However, as they passed the Kerguelens, Vincent Riou grabbed back the lead again. After 36 days 18 hours 28 minutes of racing, Jean Le Cam reached the longitude of Cape Leeuwin in second place (S.W. Australia) on 14th December at 05.30.

Cape Leeuwin/Cape Horn
There were regular handovers at the front of the race. On 20th December as they were leaving the Indian Ocean to enter the Pacific, Jean Le Cam won back the lead for the sixth time. An exceptional situation, the Pacific began with a week tacking upwind to reach the longitude of New Zealand. Still on 20th December, the NZ MRCC (Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre) warned of the presence of icebergs 300 miles east of Campbell Island. 2 days later, Jean Le Cam was the first to spot a dozen icebergs, one of which was a a quarter of the size of Groix Island. Vincent Riou played it safe and immediately tacked north eastwards on hearing of this. Further south, Jean continued on his option, in spite of the permanent risk of icebergs. This southerly option allowed Jean to increase his lead during the Pacific crossing. On Christmas Day, Jean�s lead went from 2.2 to 130 miles in 28 hours. On 26th December, Jean was the first to reach the point at which there was less than 10,000 miles to cover. On 1st January, the skipper of Bonduelle had a 264 mile lead over Vincent Riou two days from the Horn. Jean Le Cam reached the legendary rock on 3rd January at 04.15 after 56 days 17 hours 13 minutes and had a lead of 5 and a half days over the time set by Michel Desjoyeaux in 2001.

Cape Horn/Equator
As soon as the Horn was rounded, Jean Le Cam fell into a wind hole allowing the 2 chasing after him to get back up at full speed. In less than 10 hours, Jean�s lead fell from 190 to 79 miles. A contest between 3 sailors was to start for the climb back up the Atlantic. Once the Falklands were in their wake, the weather grew complicated with lines of very violent squalls battering the competitors. Heading off to the east, Jean Le Cam saw his two rivals creep back again out to the west. On 9th January, Le Cam lost the lead, while Golding was only 5.4 miles astern of the leader. The position on the right hand side was going to cost him dearly for the whole of the Atlantic climb. At no time in the South Atlantic did Jean have any way of getting back up with Vincent Riou. Taking advantage of Mike Golding�s halyard problems, Jean Le Cam won back second place off Brazil. On 19th January at 11h52, after 73 days 0 hours 50 minutes of racing, Jean Le Cam re-crossed the Equator 11 hours after Vincent Riou.

Equator/Les Sables
The suspense was to last all the way up the North Atlantic. Lying ahead of Mike Golding, Jean will do his utmost to close the gap on the Vend�e Globe leader. By taking a short cut through a high, Jean narrowed the gap from 160 to less than 30 miles in just a few days. But Vincent picked up stronger winds first and stepped up his lead to 158 miles. By hugging the wind past the Azores, Jean Le Cam tried to head further east before tackling the final sprint. This option allowed him to make gains and even grab the lead by 0.7 miles on Monday 31st January for a few hours. However, this easterly option was not going to work out. It had been like that since the Horn. Jean could only watch as Riou soared away towards a tightly contested victory.

Winner Riou Reflects

Damage
We suffered damage in two areas. On entering the Indian Ocean I suffered problems with my keel, the hydraulics in particular. That prevented me from canting the keel. I also had trouble with one of the ballast tanks. The water would come in and the air would go out and then the tank would become pressurised to the extent that it finally exploded. When on port tack I lacked 1.5 tonnes of water. Fortunately a lot of the climb up the Atlantic was on starboard tack and thanks to my shore crew I had a very well prepared boat.

Solitude
I didn�t suffer with the solitude but I like the contact with the shore. I spent a lot of time on the telephone. The difficult thing was that I had some hard days but I find it difficult to express my feelings. The descent of the Atlantic was very stable but the return very expensive. The Indian was very hard with some big depressions but we always had the choice as to whether to go there or not. We always had the solution of the best route. We finished with 8 days of beating between the Indian and the Pacific, and the Southern Ocean is exceptional.

Ice
You can decide yourself if you are going to stay in the North or not and then we managed to get through the Pacific pretty much just on the front of a depression.

Management
Good routing of the weather enabled me to sail calmly. I was prepared to lose some miles in the chance of more favourable conditions. I don�t go looking for difficult situations. Weather I love it.

Strategy
Is the greatest aspect of sailing; the tactics and the strategy to choose the optimum route.

Mistakes
Jean made a mistake at the Horn. He went into a light wind zone which couldn�t be seen in the weather models. Satellite picture observation enabled me to spot it, but Jean went right into it. He lost 200 miles in 36 hours, maybe he didn�t have any Fleet 77 aboard. I was really fed up after the Azores, and also when I lost the lead after Australia. The tropical depression off Brazil and the big anticyclone after the Azores annoyed me a lot. I was very frustrated not to be able to mark my adversaries too. The conditions were changing an awful lot so I had to make a lot of sail changes.

Adventure
The Vend�e Globe is an adventure and that�s not something you can forget. You have to prepare yourself for something new. You try to discover where your limits are. It�s a very important human dimension. Performance I haven�t always had the means to prepare myself in my career. This Vend�e Globe enabled me to achieve that. I think it�s easier to win a Vend�e Globe that requires versatility rather than pure racing.

Future
I�m not difficult. I like competitions of all types, on any kind of boat. I just want to continue to earn my living doing something I love to do and know how to do. I would like to do another Figaro campaign next year.

Boat
I�ve known this boat since it was conceived. It has a soul. I am happy for the people that designed it. I have never understood why you would choose to build a boat anywhere else than France. Boats have evolved greatly over a number of years as regards the hull shape.

Victory
Jean and Mike have raced a fine race. Being ahead doesn�t mean much in the southern Atlantic. Jean had a chance to comeback and didn�t take it.

2004-2005 Vendee Globe a Classic

There is little doubt that the finish of this Vendee Globe should go down in history as one of the ocean racing classics of all time.

A new solo round the world record is imminent.

The same three battle weary pugilists slugging it out on a postage stamp sized stretch of water after 86 days, and 23, 600 miles of racing is a remarkable outcome, and with less than 36 hours until the finish, the outright winner is still not clear.

Vincent Riou, cool calm and impassioned, still holds the upper hand � holding firm on the compass course for Les Sables d�Olonne. His consistency has been awesome. The worst he has been in this race is a meagre 260 miles off the lead, just to the west of Cape Horn.

Riou�s reward is a 33.8 mile lead with just 344.5 miles to sail, and ahead anything could still happen.

Still lying in third place, Briton Mike Golding in Ecover has recovered 11.1 miles over the course of the day so far � from the 04h00 rankings to the 15h00 rankings, and while his deficit may still be 90.8 miles behind PRB with the leader 344.5 miles from the safety of the finish line, Golding commented today that a slow, sticky finish is still a possibility. � PRB has the advantage with a better wind angle and Bonduelle is a little better than me but I have more pressure. Unfortunately it is looking pretty stable but the high pressure could move and if the high pressure moves that could be good for me.� Admitted Golding today, �A bit of stoppage at the end perhaps?� " It is still pretty frustrating but I am looking forward to getting in and seeing my family, my friends and supporters, it's been a great race and it is
extraordinary that we are so close at the finish."

While Les Sables d�Olonne may be at fever pitch awaiting the finishers, last night there was just a vague offshore breeze off the town, in the likes of which the British skipper believes the leader would hardly have moved. His cool skipper�s logic and the weather files may not completely concur with his inner hopes but, on last night�s evidence � with the flags scarcely moving over the village � a final park up is not beyond the realms of possibility.

The separation between the three protagonists has changed little over the day. To leeward of PRB, Bonduelle has a slightly better compass course than PRB, up to 10 degrees at times.

One way or another the race is expected to finish during the middle of tomorrow night, Wednesday2nd of February.

Vincent Riou (PRB), asked if things were going to plan, in a dead pan response replied: "�.they're going. I'm making do with what I've got. It's nice to be back in home waters and it will be good to get home. I've got wind shifts of 30 degrees with 8 to 18 knots last night. Jean is not on course and he's going slower. I'm reaching at the moment though it can change to close-reaching in the space of just 5 minutes, while he will be headed fortunately.

"I'm not between Jean and the mark so I haven't got perfect control" continued Riou. "You just have to make as much ground as you can, you mustn't fall asleep. I have all the cards in my hand but when racing you always know you have to be careful. I'll be reaching to Les Sables d'Olonne and I think I'll be behind a small light patch. It doesn't look like a continuous lift all the way for Jean but I reckon he may yet lay the finish in one.�

Jean Le Cam was typically guarded about the current situation out on the water today, for him just 378.3 miles from the finish: "I couldn't rest last night with some 40 degrees wind shifts every fifteen minutes. We had 12 to 24 knots and though the fatigue might get to me eventually, I'm certainly not suffering from boredom! This high is very strange with wind shifts, and squalls that are not squalls. The forecasts aren't great for myself nor 'Mr Goldinger.' We hoped that the high would move or that Vincent would find himself becalmed as we had no choice in our options. It looks like we've got no chance of
catching up, and worse still that Vincent closes the door behind him when he finishes and leaves us becalmed. I just have to concentrate on advancing on my course now. If I were to tack onto PRB's course now that would kill all my hopes stone dead."

" At the moment it is fairly stable and we are in a big loop around the high pressure. PRB has the advantage with a better wind angle and Bonduelle is a little better than me but I have more pressure. Unfortunately it is looking pretty stable but the high pressure could move and if the high pressure
moves that could be good for me. A bit of stoppage at the end perhaps. At the moment I have more wind than I need (he reported earlier that he had a reef in), the problem for me is the direction of the wind. I will get lifted but I will probably have to take a tack up the north and that will hurt my VMG. It's kind of hard to justify a tack but I will just have to monitor the weather and what is happening with Bonduelle. I can't control PRB but there is always a possibility with Bonduelle."

Golding still feels that PRB has the upper hand at the moment, but he commented that he felt Riou's tactics have taken him out on a limb: "I am not sure that he deserves it, I think that he was way out a limb there." As far as the prospects changing for young British sailors thinking of, or returning to mount a challenge again: "It's a tough race but it always has been. There have been some disappointments for the Anglos but I am sure they will be back and make their presence felt, and I'd like to think that they're position in the UK will be strengthened." Once again Mike re-affirmed that he thinks the race is 'not over until its over and that he will keep fighting until the end. "..I've seen races like this won and lost in the last 20 minutes." He reported that he has been packing in plenty of rest. Earlier Mike reported that he had chosen to tack early last night, responding just after Bonduelle, just so that he could maintain a little bit of separation with Bonduelle, but he felt the result of that was he was more headed to start with, confirming that he feels he will probably have to tack north later on today.

Quotes from the Boats:
Anne Liardet (Roxy): "The boat is a champion but you have to have some luck too. I was swept up by the biggest depression I've had since the start with a maximum of 55 knots of E'ly. A block suddenly exploded and the runner came away on its own. Fortunately Roxy's spar is a solid carbon tube with
push spreaders and I was able to react quickly to avoid dismasting. I released the mainsail halyard which dropped down fairly well on its own. There was no way I could've gone up forward to drop the trinquette, such was the force of the wash across the deck (Roxy doesn't have a trinquette furler). I had the wind abeam and we were thrown around a few times. I did manage to heat myself up a tea though. I hope that's the last time I'll encounter that. You wouldn't want days like that all the time."

Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto): "It's an incredible race up ahead, it's a shame someone's got to win as all three skippers have been so close, at each other's throats for over 80 days without let up. This race finish surpasses many events of its kind. As for Mike, I still think he could win, although he needs some luck with the high-pressure system. He's in the right place for his position on the water and if the weather changes he has the most to gain, whereas PRB is on the other side of the race course, and we could see Bonduelle and Ecover reaching in fast and the door shut on PRB. Ecover is quick in these conditions and Mike just needs to stick to his game plan."

Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle): "Initially I didn't want to do the Vend�e Globe as I didn't think the boats were safe enough and didn't fancy going round the world on a boat that stays horizontal when you capsize (no longer the case since a change in the IMOCA rules). I didn't expect it to be this intense, they are great boats. Our machines are great, fast and interesting. I haven't suffered from the solitude but I've been away long enough to be glad to see everyone soon. It's a rich event in terms of emotion, stories and discovery and it's really, really tough. It's hard to describe what the event feels like but once you're in it you're it. It's like when I was in amongst the icebergs. The fear of the unknown was more rightening than the reality but it doesn't make any the less tough."

OCR a Good Kick Off

It was one of the first large ISAF Grade 1 ranking events for the new Olympic/Paralympic Quadrennium, and gauging by the quality of sailors who flocked to compete there, the timing was none-too-early and the location never better. The 2005 Rolex Miami OCR, held for its 16th time from January 24-28, hosted over 320 sailors from 26 countries and served up impressive performances by both up-and-coming and veteran stars on its global stage. With wind conditions
for the five days of racing running the gamut from moderate to heavy on opening and closing days to light and shifty for the three days in
between, the script did not include a thread for winning on a fluke or by good luck. Each of the champions named in the nine Olympic and two Paralympic classes was solid in his or her talent.

"We tried some new things this year that worked well," said Gary Bodie (Hampton, Va.), US Sailing Team Head Coach and Event Co-Director. "We
expanded to five days from four, falling more in line with the large European Grade 1 events. We moved the Tornados to an ocean course, and we staggered starting times for classes each day to better utilize the room we have on Biscayne Bay for running five circles of racing."

Established in 1990, the Rolex Miami OCR is important not only as a world ranking regatta but also as a qualifier for the US Sailing Team and the US Disabled Sailing Team, which annually distinguish, respectively, the top-five and top-three sailors in each class. The event established the members of the 2005 US Sailing Team in the 470 Men and Women, 49er, Tornado and Yngling classes.

Laser

Launching his Olympic campaign with a major victory was Brad Funk
(Belleair Bluffs,Fla.), who sailed in the regatta's largest fleet of 46 Lasers and received the Golden Torch Award for turning in the best overall performance by an American sailor among all classes. Funk, who finished third at his class's U.S. Olympic Team Trials last year, led his fleet early and held off advances by San Diego's Andrew Campbell, a fellow two-time College All-American, even in the last race of the series.

"Andrew was winning the last race until the last leg. I had said to
myself I was going to finish that race exhausted, and that's what I did."

Funk, who had rounded the weather mark in sixth, didn't catch Campbell,but Campbell fell to second on that last leg while Funk caught three boats to finish third. Only one point separated the two in final overall scoring. "I was able to get a nice lead in the light breeze (earlier in the week) and hold it. I'm feeling I was prepared for this event. I kept my head out of the boat and was told I sailed pretty smart."

Laser Radial

Reflecting changes in the equipment for the 2008 Olympics, the Rolex Miami OCR replaced the Europe dinghy with the Laser Radial in the Women's Singlehanded discipline. The result was attendance by a plethora of young, impressive talent from the U.S., where the Laser Radial is used in many yacht club junior programs. Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.), already a star at age 17 as the 2003 Youth World Champion and the 2004 U.S. Junior Women's Singlehanded Champion, claimed victory after coming to experience her "first-ever Olympic ranking regatta." She was up against, among others, Olympic Silver Medallist (in the Europe class) Lenka Smidova of the Czech Republic, a two-time Europe class winner at this event who finished third overall in the Laser Radials and gave Railey the nod as one
of the class's top players.

Railey was the only regatta winner who had not been leading going into the last day. The business she had on the water with Anna Tunnicliffe (Norfolk, Va.), a 2004 College All-American who had been leading and eventually finished second overall, was settled in a good breeze interspersed with squalls.

"The storms would leave, and it would get light," said Railey, "and then you'd see them come again and you'd have to get over to the wind." By the third of three races on the final day, Railey had put four points on Tunnicliffe, who was then tied in points with Smidova. "I just had to play it calm," said an ecstatic Railey at regatta's end.

Star
In the Star class, Andrew Horton (Newport, R.I.) and Brad Nichol (Hanover, N.H.) successfully fended off a pack of aggressors that included Sweden's Fredrik Loof, the class's 2004 World Champion who sailed with crew Anders Ekstrom. Although Horton and Nichol led the regatta from the beginning, the two had predicted any of the five teams immediately behind them could take the lead on the last day. Loof's team was the farthest away on the scoreboard, in fifth but with the same number of points as the two teams ahead. Loof pounced but fell short, posting finishing scores of 5-1 in two races to Horton/Nichol's 8-3 to take second overall for the regatta.

For Horton, a winning member of the 2004 ISAF Match Racing World
Championship team, and Nichol, this was only their fourth Star regatta together. "It was awesome to be here with all the old-school greats," said Horton, referring to the class's history of attracting incredible sailors and making them lifelong converts.

49er

After several years of sailing in a variety of classes, Morgan Larson
(Capitola, Calif.) returned to the 49ers in a big way: winning this class with crew Pete Spaulding (Miami Beach, Fla.). Spaulding finished fifth in the 2004 Olympic 49er event with skipper Tim Wadlow and won the Rolex Miami OCR last year with Wadlow. The duo's toughest competition came from 2004 Olympic Silver Medallists Rodion Luka/George Leonchuk (UKR) who, like Larson/Spaulding, had four first-place finishes in their ten-race series. "I haven't been in these boats for a long time," said Larson, "so our strategy was to keep it simple and sail our own races."

470 Men

Brothers Sven and Kalle Coster (NED) had no problem holding on to their first-day lead to win the 470 Men's class at the regatta. "It's okay that it was light air for a few days," said Coster, who finished sixth with his
brother at the 2004 Olympics, "because we need to focus on that for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. We are actually more expert in strong air, so we were not too concerned about the last day. We were right up there and being smart." Mike Anderson-Mitterling (San Diego, Calif.), the class's defending champion, finished second overall with crew David Hughes (San Diego).

470 Women
Amanda Clark and Sarah Mergenthaler (Shelter Island, N.Y./Matawan, N.J.) also topped the scoreboard early and held on in the 470 Women's class to win, posting an impressive second overall in combined men's and women's scoring.

"That's a significant accomplishment for us," said Clark. "The first part of the regatta, we focused on securing our lead in the women's division. A secondary outcome was that we did pretty well overall, too."

Clark, a two-time College All-American, and Mergenthaler had a whopping 35-point lead over their closest competitors, second-place finishers Erin Maxwell (Stamford, Conn.) and Alice Manard (Evanston, Ill.)

Finn

Canada's Christopher Cook established himself as an Olympic player by
leading the 26-boat Finn class from the start. He was surprised that the Race Committee managed as many races as they did on the light-air days. "I prefer a breeze because you don't have to worry as much about other competitors, but any wind is good," he said. Cook, a three-time North American and Canadian National Champion who finished second at his country's 2004 Olympic Finn Trials, mostly watched runner-up Kevin Hall (Bowie, Md.), who represented the USA in Athens in this class and finished second overall.

Tornado

The Tornado class lost two consecutive days of racing due to light air but got a boost with the heavier breezes on the final day. Victory was all but assured for consistent regatta leaders John Lovell (New Orleans, La.) and Charlie Ogletree (Kemah, Texas), the USA's 2004 Olympic Silver Medallists in this class. They made it look easy by winning both of their final races and adding the victories to three previous ones in their six-race lineup. "It's never easy," laughed Lovell about his victory. "We've been sailing for the last couple of years and at the Olympics while
everyone else took a year off, so that made a difference."

Yngling

The young but longtime team of Sally Barkow (Nashotah, Wis.), Deborah
Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.) and Carrie Howe (Grosse Pointe, Mich.), lost its lead only once in the Yngling class. The lead was quickly re-established, however, when the three pushed their threat--2004 Olympian Carol Cronin (Jamestown, R.I.), sailing with Jamie Haines (Newport, R.I.) and Kate Fears (Washington, D.C.)--to third in overall scoring on the last day. Finishing second was Canada's Felicity Clark/Kari MacKay/Joanne Abbott, who made a strong play on the last day but conceded to Barkow both on the race course and in overall scoring. For Barkow, her accomplishments fell comfortably in line with her goals. "It was a good regatta for us," said
Barkow. "We didn't put pressure on ourselves and stuck with a solid
conservative game plan. Winning means we show everyone we're serious
about the Olympics, and it's a good jumpstart for the next four years."

Paralympic Classes - 2.4 Metre and Sonar

Paralympic sailing was represented with the two classes that have been selected for the 2008 Paralympics: 2.4 Metre and Sonar. The events were open, however, to both able-bodied and disabled sailors.

Sweden's Stellan Berlin, an able-bodied multiple world champion, dominated the 2.4 Metre class, winning half of his 12 races, while Great Britain's John Robertson and crew Hannah Stodel and Steve Thomas, who represented their country in the 2004 Paralympics, nearly replicated that performance in the Sonar class, winning five of ten races. Neither team ever let go of its first-day lead over the five days of competition.

Americans David Schroeder, Keith Burhans and Bradley Johnson (Miami,
Fla./Rochester, N.Y./ Hollywood, Fla.), who on the last day slipped to third from second overall in the Sonar, welcomed the chance to sail against the British team. "They've worked together five years and are well-oiled," said Burhans. "All of us others are just putting together our teams." Burhans, a Paralympian from 2000 who calls tactics on the boat, explained that he and Schroeder have sailed only two other times together and Johnson, who won a bronze medal for the USA in 2004 as crew in the Sonar, was a new teammate for them both. "All things considered," said Burhans, "we're highly pleased with the level of our sailing."

Disabled sailors are given a classification rating--from 1 to 7, most to least disabled--based on their stability, strength and functionality in the boat. A Sonar team can share no more than 14 points in total.

Optimism Growing re WX

KEY DATA DAY 66 1510 GMT:
Distance ahead: 877 miles
Time ahead: 3 days 10 hours [representing 51.25% of time remaining] calculated using the time it took for Joyon to get to the same Distance to Finish as Ellen's current position

OMEGA: Official timekeeper for Ellen MacArthur

Lat/Long: 35 28 N / 028 10 W (200 miles S Azores)
Average Boat speed: 19.35 knots (heading N)
True Wind speed: 27.4 knots (direction SE)
Sea temperature: 18 degrees C
Distance sailed so far: 25,897 miles at an average speed of 16.3 knots
(data communicated by Thrane MiniC via BT Business Broadband)

Update based on data recorded 1510 GMT...check http://www.teamellen.com for the latest data updated hourly

IN BRIEF:

* Rough but fast conditions and little opportunity to sleep as Ellen sounds more optimistic about getting across the high pressure.

To listen to Ellen's audio, courtesy of Geolink/Iridium, click here http://www.ocftp2.com/audio/ellen/EM020205_uk_e.mp3

FROM ELLEN:

I didn't get much sleep last night at all, it was rough and the breeze was up and down like a yo-yo it was terrible. The breeze would die to 14 knots and then within two seconds it would kick up to 28 and then within a minute it would die back down to 14 again. The forecasts are a bit of waste of time right now, the models bear no resemblence to what we have. It's really up and down - it will die and then a few minutes later it will build again. I just can't get any sleep because every time you go to sleep you get the sails right, and you just think come on get some sleep, the next minute you've got the alarm going off and 27 knots of breeze again.

I slept in my oilskins in the cuddy...it was in and out of consciousness sleep rather than solid sleep. I lay down on the bunk for an hour this morning and I couldn't sleep at all. I was getting thrown against the side of the boat and the alarms were going off. But the weather file from this morning looks more positive, the bubble of high breaks off but it looks more organised and we should get through.

Classics Division

While the lead Vendee Globe lone sailors will arrive in France within 24 hours, there are a total of 13 boats racing. This is out of 20 that started, meaning the still racing rate is 65%. In the 2000-2001 race there were 15 finishers of 24 starters or 62%.

The boats currently filling 10th thru 13th all competed 4 years ago. In fact some of these boats have sailed in every Vendee Globe! They compose the 'Classics division'

Best of the classics so far is Beno�t Parnaudeau sailing Best Western. He is in 10th, while last time his boat finished 14th ahead of only 1 boat.

Although only ahead of 1 boat Raphael Dinelli on Akena is still in the race. This is significant as Dinelli has twice failed to finish.

Roxy in 11th is ahead of 2 boats while last time around sailed by the late Simone Bianchetti she beat 3 boats. Finally Benefic is ahead of nobody where as in 2000-2001 Joe Seeten sailed the boat to a 10th out of 15 boats.

Based on his success in the classics if a sponsor is looking for a promising sailor for the 2008 Vendee, Benoit Parnaudeau looks promising.