Porto Cervo, Italy.
2nd September 2008.

After the first days racing in the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in Porto Cervo the leaders of the forty-strong fleet, divided into four divisions, are Neville Crichton’s Alfa Romeo (NZL) for the Racing division; Ernesto Bertarelli’s Numbers (USA) for the Mini Maxi division; John Williams’ Ranger (CAY.ISL) for the Cruising Division and Magic Carpet2 (FRA), owned by Lindsay Owen Jones, for the Wally division. With four more days of racing to go, however, and competition fierce on the waters off Sardinia’s Costa Smeralda, all is yet to play for.

Conditions at the start of race one were practically perfect with 12 to fifteen knots of stable 290° wind combining with blue skies and searing sunshine to provide a spectacular show on the start line for the many press and spectator boats looking on. The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda’s Race Committee set a course of 30 nautical miles for the Cruising division which took them from the start just off Porto Cervo through the strait at Capo D’Orso and northwards to round the Barretinelli di Fuori islands before a long south-westerly stretch around the outside of the islands of the La Maddalena archipelago and back past Porto Cervo to the finish. The Racing, Mini Maxi and Cruising divisions followed a similar course which was lengthened to 39 nautical miles by heading further north to round the Ecueil de Lavezzi just off Corsica before turning back towards Porto Cervo.

The Racing division provided few surprises with Alfa Romeo 2 leading Rambler (USA) around the course with a 20 minute gap between the two at the finish. Crichton’s canting-keel supermaxi, which boasts pluri-Olympic medallist Ben Ainslie as strategist, managed to hold her lead by just over one minute on corrected time.

Alfa Romeo 3 (NZL), launched last month and competing in her first ever regatta, also excelled in the Mini-Maxi Division taking real time victory just 14 seconds ahead of Numbers with Andy Soriano’s Alegre in third. On corrected time Alfa Romeo3, with Torben Grael at the helm, moved back to fifth while Numbers took first ahead of the two competing STP65s: Jim Swartz’s Moneypenny, with America’s Cup and Whitbread winner Paul Cayard aboard and Rosebud/Team DYT, owned by Roger Sturgeon and division winner of the Sydney Hobart Race 2007.

In the Cruising Division Arnie Glimcher’s Ghost (USA) crossed the line first ahead of Salperton but corrected back to eighth on handicap while Ranger moved up to first ahead of Salperton with the J Class Velsheda in third.

Claus Peter Offen’s Y3K(GER), with led the Wally fleet in real time ahead of Magic Carpet2 but suffered on handicap to finish fifth overall. Magic Carpet took first place ahead of Irvine Laidlaw’s Highland Fling X (GBR) and Genie (MON) with Prince Carlo di Borbone at the helm.

Tomorrow’s forecast predicts south-easterly winds of approximately 11 to 14 knots. Racing is scheduled to start at 11.30 am.

Results

Racing
1) Alfa Romeo, NZL, 1 – 1.00
2) Rambler, USA, 2 – 2.00

Cruising
1) Ranger, CAY.ISL, 1 – 1.00
2) Salperton, CAY.ISL, 2 – 2.00
3) Velsheda, GBR, 3 – 3.00

Mini Maxi
1) Numbers, USA, 1 – 1.00
2) Moneypenny, USA, 2 – 2.00
3) Rosebud/Team DYT, USA, 3 – 3.00

Wally
1) Magic Carpet2, GBR, 1– 1.00
2) Highland Fling X, GBR 2 – 2.00
3) Genie, MON, 3 – 3.00

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Original post by OG and software by Elliott Back

The Kiwi’s are taking over our little club with 9 racing in the South Pacific Laser Masters on Waterloo Bay.

Check out the race reports here >>

And results here >>

There are 55 racing in total – a great sight to watch.

And the thing with this lot of Laser sailors is that there isn’t a bottle of powerade or banana in sight!

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Original post by OG and software by Elliott Back

Sunshine Coast photographer Ben Calder’s photos from the 2008 Audi Sunshine Coast Queensland Match Racing Championships are now available to view and purchase. The photos are being hosted by SAILINGphotos.net. Check out all 224 images now!

Photos >>

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Original post by OG and software by Elliott Back

One of the races we won

Well here we are… At the 2008 Audi Sunshine Coast Queensland Match Racing Championships racing off the beautiful beaches of eroded Mooloolaba.

Today was a great learning experience. I learnt to put on more sunscreen, drink more water, and not get involved with pre-start tussles!

It all started in Race 1 of Flight 1. We were assigned to starboard to start at the boat end. Before we even knew it, a penalty was thrown at us. Ah… We entered the box too early! Did we? Yes…? Are you sure? Indeed. Oh crap. What a way to start!

The first race resulted in us completing a penalty turn which we did on the finish line. “The best place to do your penalty is at the finish line. Get ahead, then do the turn,” advised the professional. Ok, yeah, right, well you have to get in the lead for that to work don’t you! Not to worry, that was our first race – plenty of time to come back.

The breeze was light – light all day, with only a few minor bursts providing some relief to the cramped up crew sitting forward.

Ok, the 2nd Flight is here, what’s our plan of attack? “Let’s try to not get a penalty this time shall we?” Hmmm, I’ll do my best…

Bang.

Whistle.

Blue flag.

Blue flag?????

Blue flag.

Oh crap. That’s us. Another penalty!!! You’ve GOT to be kidding me.

Right. How are we going to handle this one? What did the pro say? Do it at the finish line? Well there is a chance we won’t get in front, so why don’t we just do it now…? Done. Sailing upwind, we bear away and do our penalty. Excellent. Now let’s just sail fast. No problem, just give me about 3 more knots to increase the strength to 6 knots!

The SB3’s being used in the regatta are equally matched to the extreme. The guys getting the boats ready did a superb job and no one can complain that one boat is faster than another. It really does come down to crew work, and experience. Our crew work is great, our experience of the rules… Not so good!

Our race in the 3rd Flight was also a shocker. The finishing positions were close, but our bow didn’t go over the line first.

Three loses… Three races to go. I started thinking that I should have taken up tennis.

After a sip of water, a couple of snakes and half a muesli bar, the head was back in shape and was ready to go.

“We are going to HUNT these guys. This is our race. GRRRRRR!!!!!!” We were ready.

Control was gained right from the start (apparently that makes winning the race just a little bit easier), and off the line with speed we were looking famous. In other words, we were three boat lengths in front, but felt good. Around the top mark we shot off with speed with the kite up and headed towards what little breeze there was. Our opponents gybed and went the other way…

Hmmm… should we let them get away?

Hmmm… no idea!

After much back and forth we ended up underneath them and just heated it up.

PROTEST!!! Fly the Y flag!!!

We waited…

We waited some more…

Then the whistle goes. FINALLY!!!! We have inflicted a penalty on another boat! What an exciting moment!!!

When we sailed across the finish line in first place our confidence was back and we were ready for another win.

The second last race was again a close one but luckily a little easier than the others. We cruised over the finish line (in about 5 knots) and finished in front for the second time. It would be our last time…

The last race. The final flight. Our aim, to win. A win still wouldn’t get us through to the top round and quarter finals, but it would ingrain confidence in our minimal match racing abilities!

We started off well, inflicting a penalty on the other team, and managed to drift over the line in the lead. When I say drift, I really do mean drift. There was nothing. Only just enough to propel a little way forward. Our decision to tack when we did pretty much ended our day. We tacked onto port, and due to the very minimal amount of pressure, there just wasn’t enough to push over the bow of our opponent, meaning we had to tack back resulting in our stern giving their bow a bit of a touch up. Penalty my team. Oh crap crap crap…

Then the worst happened… a 30 degree wind shift, and not in our favour. We went from being even, to a minute behind. The course became that of a soilder’s, and although we attempted to protest the committee for not canning the race, we were doomed to finish in second, or last place in that race. Oh well…

We finished the day with 2 wins (and 4 loses, but we won’t focus on that), and learnt a great deal about this Match Racing game. Be confident at the start, don’t be nervous, don’t be afraid to hunt and sail to the best of your ability.

Our regatta isn’t over – now we race for the bottom half of the positions, and although there is no hope of taking home the silverware, there is still hope to secure the lucky door prize win!

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The photos attached were captured by Ben Calder – www.supanova.net.au

Original post by OG and software by Elliott Back

It’s the June Long Weekend. It’s the Queens birthday weekend. It’s also the time for the Musto Etchells Australian Midwinter Championships – an annual event in all Etchells sailors calendar.

I was here last year, and the year before – taking photos. But this year LSD was told not to take to the water and take photos. Why? Because we showcase the SLAM logo, and this year the event is sponsored by Musto. Oh well, not to worry. Seems that rivalry will forever exist between certain brands.

Something like this has happened before…

ANYWAY… Peter Duncan from Quest Photos, a local on the Sunshine Coast, will be on the water for the duration of the event and has already captured some fantastic images of these gorgeous boats.

Ian Grant Writes:

West Australian Michael ‘Skip’ Lissiman will need to complete a miracle comeback to successfully defend his Musto Australian Championship trophy following his black flag disqualification in the opening heat off Mooloolaba earlier today.

More >>

Bob Ross Writes:

Graeme Taylor’s Victorian crew aboard Magpie, from a great start in a tricky, shifting light wind, led around all marks to win the opening race of the Musto Etchells Australian Winter Championship off Mooloolaba today.

More >>

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Original post by OG and software by Elliott Back

More photos from the IRC States coming soon (of yachts actually racing!).

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Original post by OG and software by Elliott Back

Next weekend sees the 12ft Skiffs and the 18ft Skiffs descend on Leicestershire, for the first round of this years Bartercard Skiff series, which take place on the 26th & 27th April at Rutland Water.

For the 12ft Skiffs, this will be first event in this years Bartercard Cup, a prestigious trophy presented to the overall series points winner. In a similar way to Formula 1, 6 points are given to the winning boat, with 2nd place getting 5 points, third getting 4, and so on.

With the recent addition of 3 more 12ft Skiffs from New Zealand, this event will see similar-sized fleets from both classes, making for quite a spectacle.

Brian Whitford from Bartercard said were really pleased to see the 18ft Skiffs get involved in our race series this year alongside the 12ft Skiffs, and are keen to work with both classes to build a series thats recognised throughout the world as being at the pinnacle of the sport of dinghy sailing, involving some of the countrys top sailors in the most exciting and extreme craft in the world.

Bob Clements from the 12ft Skiff Class commented were very pleased that Bartercard have the vision to see where were trying to take this, and are keen to come with us on that journey. The support weve had from Bartercard has been fantastic over the last 2 years, and I think that with the inclusion of the 18ft Skiffs this year, the series will go from strength to strength. Who knows, you might even get to see skiff racing on the TV soon.

Read more at http://www.12footskiff.com

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Original post by OG and software by Elliott Back

Northern NSW sailing Gabrielle King has taken out the Women’s Laser Radial Youth Worlds for the second consecutive year. An absolutely awesome achievement.

Ashley Stoddart

LSD reader Ashley Stoddart, who is 14 years old and just competed in her first World Title, finished an amazing 10th overall and took home the under 17 World Championship crown!

This is a great result and LSD congratulates these girls, as well as everyone else who competed in the 2008 Takapuna World Championships in New Zealand.

Regatta Website >>

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Original post by OG and software by Elliott Back

Racing started today for the 2008 Laser World Championships in Terrigal, which is about 2 hours north of Sydney.
It’s awesome to have a regatta of this size happening down under, and naturally, we wish the Aussie sailors the best of luck!
Kicking off after the Standard Worlds are the Masters. But don’t under estimate these [...]

Original post by OG and software by Elliott Back

The Fairway Challenge is an 80nm Yacht Race that incorporates both bay and open ocean sailing. The 2008 race will be the 4th time this popular event has been staged by the Moreton Bay Boat Club Sailing Branch.
It is now also a very useful preparatory race for the Brisbane to Gladstone that [...]

Original post by OG and software by Elliott Back