Star NA Winner is.....

By finishing 2nd in the final race Eric Doyle edged Mark Reynolds
for the 1999 Start Class North American Championship.  Reynolds
finished 7th.  That meant that Doyle totaled 12 points while Reynolds
finished with 14.  Bermuda's Peter Bromby won the final race
and  took the 3rd podium position with 17 points.

Figaro Solo Leg 2

The Figaro Solo fleet finished Leg 2 in Bayona on the west coast
of Spain.  It was a tough leg with 4 DNF's from injuries and dismasting.

Once again French sailors are dominating the Figaro.   On Leg 2
Eric Drouglazet held off Leg 1 winner Jean Le Cam.  The last two
days of the leg were sailed in light conditions.  Sleep in these two
days was rare.  Drouglazet described Leg 2 this way: "We've done
two nights without sleeping, and about 2 hours in the whole of the 98
hour leg.  I was fighting to stay awake at the helm, singing to myself
continuously to try and keep control." 

Irish sailor Damian Foxall went Top 10 on Leg 2 and is 8th overall.
Foxall commented on Leg 2: "Concentration after very little sleep
is difficult, yet it's the conditions where the positions change very fast
and your mind needs to be  at its sharpest."

Leg 3 starts on Sunday sailing 445 miles to Douarnenez France.

Verve Cup WX:

Day 1 of the Verve Cup should see some boisterous sailing conditions.
Winds of 10-20 knots are expected this morning from the SE.  The
forecast then expects a veer to start with the breeze going north
15-25 by this afternoon.  This strong north breeze is expected to hold
until Saturday afternoon.

In addition to the heavy air the fleet has a 50% chance of showers and
thunderstorms.  Any such activity can add to the difficulty of the sailing
conditions.

Volvo Ocean Race to visit Cape Town

As has been the case with all editions of the race now known as the
Volvo Ocean Race the first leg will run from Southampton England
to Cape Town South Africa. 

This first leg will also be the longest for the fleet of Volvo 60's.  Leg 1
measures in at 7350 miles.  In the 1997-98 race Leg 1 winner
EF Language covered the leg in 29 days 16 hours for an average
of 10.55 knots.