Brasil 1 Gets Wet
Brazil’s Dream RIO DE JANIERO, Brazil (June 27, 2005)– A crane carried the 70-foot Volvo Ocean Race entry Brasil 1, weighing over 13 tons, to the pier. Ingrid Schmidt Grael, the mother of skipper Torben Grael, served as the boat’s godmother and broke a bottle of champagne on the bow, during a ceremony packed with crewmembers and many official representatives. “The christening is a very special event, especially for the Brasil 1, which represents an enormous undertaking in the world of Brazilian sports,” said skipper Torben Grael. “It has been a lot of hard work since we starting building the boat, and it will certainly be a lot more work, with the first tests in the water and the first sailing trials.” The boat will be undergoing its first test next week, after the hydraulic systems have been adjusted. “The first sailing trials will take place in Guanabara Bay. In early July we will go to Ilhabela Sailing Week to take part in the Alcatrazes por Boreste Regatta and then in the round-the-island sail. From a technical point of view, we have chosen a more conservative boat. We believe that it will give us the desired stability,” said Grael. “This project is a real challenge, starting with making it financially viable, then building the boat in Brazil, and now with the preparation and soon the actual race.” It’s not just the Brazilians who are proud of Brasil 1. Its navigator, Australian Adrienne Cahalan, the only woman so far confirmed to take part in the 2005-06 Volvo Ocean Race, underlines the feelings of nationalism fostered by this project. “Brasil 1 is one of the most challenging projects that I have come across. It goes beyond the narrow-minded view of just being the first one to arrive. It involves a lot more, a nationalistic feeling, not just a commercial project. The boat belongs to Brazil, and not to the sponsors or the crew.” www.volvooceanrace.org Etchells 2005 North Americans CHICAGO, IL (June 25, 2005)- Complete results from the regatta can be found at www.etchellschicago.com/naresults.html 1. J. Smith (7), 1, 1, 3, 2, 3 2. D. Conner 3, 3, 2, (10), 5, 1 3. G. Jobson 2, 5, (12), 7, 1, 6 Americans Perform Well at Kiel Week KIEL, Germany (June 26, 2005)-The U.S. turned in a strong showing at Kieler Woche Olympic class regatta. Topping the men’s 470’s were Michael Anderson-Mitterling and David Hughes. In the Star class, George Szabo and Eric Monroe finished second, 4 points behind the Polish team of Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Dominik Zycki. In the Laser Radials, Paige Railey also finished in second place, a mere point behind Gintare Volungeviciute (LIT). Fellow Americans Anna Tunnicliffe finished 22nd and Leah Hoepfner finished 45th out of a 74-boat fleet. Amanda Clark and Sarah Mergenthaler placed 8th in a 31-boat fleet in the women’s 470 class. Michael Grandfield and Mike Kuschner finished 14th in the Tornado class. http://www.kieler-woche.de/eng/segelsport/startregattas_eng.htm Starting Lineups Set for Centennial Transpac LONG BEACH, Calif. (June 23, 2005)–The handicap ratings are in and the starting lineups are set for the Centennial Transpacific Yacht Race. Thirty-five of the 75 entries-14 Cal 40s, the smaller boats in Racing Division V and Aloha classes A and B- will lead off the series of staggered starts on July 11, followed by 20 Division III and IV racers on July 15 and the 20 fastest raters on Sunday, July 17. All starts will be off the Palos Verdes Peninsula at 1 p.m., although many of the boats will enjoy ceremonial departures at about 10 a.m. from Transpac Village at Rainbow Harbor in downtown Long Beach, where boats will be moored in harmony with the city’s Sea Festival celebration. Genuine Risk is among those thinking Barn Door — and maybe a record. The largest is Randall Pittman’s Dubois 90, Genuine Risk, although Hasso Plattner’s maxZ86, Morning Glory, is the scratch boat by one-hundredths of a second per mile for the 2,300-mile rating distance. Roy Disney’s maxZ86, Pyewacket, is rated 0.040—meaning, those boats are not only the fastest monohulls ever to sail Transpac but virtually dead even in speed potential, setting up an epic battle for the Barn Door and a bid for the record of 7 days 11 hours 41 minutes 27 seconds set by an earlier Pyewacket in 1999. The smallest but third fastest in Division III is The Cone of Silence, Jamie and Jenny Neil’s Reichel/Pugh 32 from Australia that dropped out and returned to the mainland in 2003. It may also be the least comfortable entry. The most comfortable will certainly be James Warmington’s Shanakee II, a Pedrick 75 with hot water, interior air conditioning, big-screen TV and a freezer, among other amenities. Starting with the Aloha A class on July 11, it also should beat the later starters to Honolulu, as it did in 2001. www.transpacificyc.org SAIC La Jolla Leads Global Challenge (June 27, 2005) Speeds have increased across the fleet this afternoon as the teams race towards La Rochelle. With a strong south westerly breeze helping them along, the teams have averaged over 10 knots of boat speed over the past six hours – Team Save the Children making the best six hour speed of 10.4 knots. Team SAIC La Jolla are still holding onto their 25 mile lead over the chasing pack- but life at the front isn’t easy, as skipper Eero Lehtinen describes: “In the lead, still. But for how long? It probably sounds weird but since we got into the lead life has been very stressful and the tactics more and more difficult to control. “The problem here is that for the first time in this race we are sailing with the weather systems and not against them. New breeze and the lows catch us always from behind and whoever is in the lead and hence furthest east gets it last. 35 miles gap is as good as a pole position in Formula 1 – one mistake and you are on the back row!” That mistake is just what teams vying for position in the chasing pack will be looking for. As Team Stelmar crew member Susan Lyons notes: “Tension is running high and the crew look very serious indeed as we constantly monitor the progress of our fellow competitors who can be seen all around us.” The battle to get every knot of boat speed will be the prime focus of every crew-member, but with the increase in wind strength, they will have to counterbalance this with the need to look after their already fragile spinnakers. A blow-out at this stage in the race could cost a team dearly. For more, visit Veterans and First-Timers Share the Spoils COWES, United Kingdom (June 25, 2005 )–Every division was closely contested in the Rolex Swan European Regatta at Cowes, but none more so than in the small boats of Class B. Swan 441 Menenes kept her nerve with a very consistent performance in the light north-easterly winds of the final day, finishing third in both races to win Class B by four points overall from Richard Balding’s Swan 41 Philippides II. Menenes’ co-owner David Rance was elated to have won his class in his first ever Rolex Swan Europeans. “We bought this boat 18 months ago, and what a super boat she is,” he said. “The biggest thanks goes to the crew, particularly to our helmsman Andy Cassell and skipper Pete Newlands.” While Rance will win a Rolex timepiece as the winning owner, he said he would be presenting it to Newlands for his inspirational leadership. Newlands brings many skills to his skipper’s role. He lives on the Isle of Wight and knows these waters inside out, and he is a former world champion and Olympic representative, while Cassell won a gold medal at the Paralympic Games in 1996. There were 27 different Swan models and a total of 67 teams from nine countries competing at the regatta, hosted by the Royal Yacht Squadron. Class A 1. Jacobite – Swan 48 – Stephen James – 1,7,1,(8),1,6,1 – 17 points 2. Akarana – Swan 46 MkII – Libby Deegan – 3,1,2,(10),2,8,5 – 21 points 3. Elan – Swan 48 – Harald Baum – 6,2,3,9,DNF (23),12,2 – 34 points Class B 1. Menenes – Swan 441 – David Rance – 2,(12),5,6,2,3,3 – 21 points 2. Philippides II – Swan 41 – Richard Balding – 4,4,1,8,(9),6,2 – 25 points 3. Flying Neleb – Swan 39 – Frederico Garcia-German – 5,7,8,(18),3,2,1 – 26 points Swan 45 European Championships 1. Fever – Grant Gordon/Klaus Diederichs – 6,5,2,1,2,1,6,2,2,2,(9) – 28 points 2. WISC – Glynn Williams – Swan 45 – 2,2,1,3,5,2,(11),5,1,(11),2 – 34 points 3. Nemo of Cowes – Bernard Lambilliotee – 3,6,3, 5,1,4,4,4,(8),7,3 – 40 points Swan 601 Class 1. Cuor di Leone – Leonardo Ferragamo – 2,10,(17),7,10,3,14 – 46 points 2. Island Fling – Paul Winkelmann – (21),18,18,5,3,1,11 – 56 points 3. Spirit of Jethou – Sir Peter Ogden – (20),13,19,3,6,5,15 – 61 points www.nautorswan.com Block Island Race Week Results BLOCK ISLAND, RI (June 24, 2005)-The final day of Block Island Race Week presented by Rolex was “a real beauty,” with south winds building to 18-20 knots by mid-day, putting plenty of muscle behind two races in all classes except the PHRF non-spinnaker class, which completed one scheduled race. The action-packed day was the perfect topper for four previous mostly-sunny days with challenging winds that made the 21st running of this biennial event another memorable one for more than 2000 sailors on 190 boats. Trophy Winners Everett B. Morris Memorial Trophy for Best Overall Performance: Warpath Isbrandtsen Overall Perpetual Trophy for the second best performance: Rum Funny A. Justin Wasley Memorial Trophy for the overall winner of the one-design class with the largest number of entries: Pretty Sketchy Island Sailing Club of Cowes Perpetual Trophy for the first overall IRC rated boat in the Around the Island Race (also won a Rolex oyster Perpetual Submariner timepiece): Titan XII Vintage Yacht Trophy for the yacht 15 years or older with the best performance of the week: Chinook John Alden Reed Perpetual Trophy for the best performance by a Service Academy Yacht: Hellcat, USMMA Governors Perpetual Trophy for the foreign yacht with the best performance of the week: Mean Machine Shelter Island Team Trophy: 1. Mudheads (Showdown, Remedy, Cooch); 2. Storm Trysail Club Red (High Noon, Settler, Titan); 3. Storm Trysail Club Commodores (Lora Ann, Solution, Gold Digger) For complete results, go to www.blockislandraceweek.com Final Results Place, boat name, boat type, skipper, hometown (race finishes), total points RED 1-IRC SUPER ZERO 1. Titan, Rp75, Tom Hill, San Juan, PR (1-2-1-1-2-1-1-2-1-1), 11.5 pts; 2. Numbers, Farr 60, Dan Meyers, Boston, Mass., (4-1-2-2-4-1-2-3-2-2), 19.5; 3. Hissar, Farr 60, Edgar Cato, Charlotte, N.C. (2-3-5-4-1-3-3-4-4-3), 27; RED 2 – IRC ZERO 1. Bandit, Swan 45, Andrew Fisher, Greenwich, Conn. (1-2-4-5-1-2-4-3-1-2), 20 pts; 2. High Noon, Ilc 40, Dennis Collins/Steve Benjamin, Norwalk, Conn. (2-1-2-1-3-1-2-2-DNS-DNS), 27; 3. Better Than, Swan 45, Andrzey Rojek, Brooklyn, N.Y. (4-4-1-3-2-4-5-7-2-DNS), 32; RED 3 FARR 40 1. Warpath, Steve & Fred Howe, San Diego, Calif. (1-3-2-2-1-1-2-10-3-1), 26 pts; 2. Mean Machine, Peter de Ridder, Monaco (7-6-1-1-4-3-1-2-1-2), 28; 3. Le Renard, Steve & Maxine Phillips, Annapolis, Md. (5-1-4-6-3-4-4-4-2-3), 36; RED 4 – IRC ONE 1. Rum Funny, J133, Bud Suiter, La Jolla, Calif. (2-2-1-1-2-3-8-2-1-4), 18 pts; 2. Settler, Ctm42, Jim & Tom Rich, Middletown, R.I. (3-3-6-2-5-2-4-6-4-3), 32; 3. Chris Dragon, J130, Andrew Weiss, Rye Brook, N.Y. (4-1-5-3-3-9-11-3-3-1), 32.5; RED 5 – IRC TWO 1. Lora Ann, Exp 37, Richard du Moulin, Larchmont, N.Y. (2-1-5-1-1-10-4-3-1-1), 19 pts; 2. Troubador, Express 37, Mort Weintraub, Larchmont, N.Y. (1-5-3-2-2-1-3-6-2-3), 22; 3. Cabady, Express 37, Matt & Randall Cabady, Ridgefield, Conn. (4-7-2-3-3-9-5-4-7-2), 37; WHITE 1 – FARR 395 1. Tsunami, Preben Ostberg/Bud Dailey, Edgewater, Maryland (2-1-6-1-3-1-2-2-2), 14 pts; 2. Coyote, Bill Lemens, West Redding, Conn. (1-5-4-3-1-4-1-6-1), 20; 3. Avalanche, Craig Albrecht, Sea Cliff, N.Y. (3-3-1-2-6-6-4-1-3), 23; WHITE 2 – J44 1. Challenge IV, Jeffery Willis, Huntington Bay, N.Y. (1-1-3-6-2-6-1-1-2), 17 pts; 2. Gold Digger, Jim Bishop, Jamestown, R.I. (2-2-2-3-6-7-2-3-1), 21; 3. Maxine, William Ketcham, Greenwich, Conn. (4-6-1-9-1-1-9-2-4), 28; WHITE 3 – BEN 40.7 1. Dame Blanche, Odhmar Mueller von Blumencrom, Great Falls, Va. (1-3-4-1-4-3-DSQ-2-3), 21 pts; 2. Down Time, Ed & Molly Freitag, Annapolis, Maryland (3-1-3-2-2-7-1-3-6), 21.5; 3. Moon Racer, Kent Comerford, Annapolis, Maryland (2-6-2-DSQ-1-2-2-3-7), 25.5; WHITE 4 – J120 1. Sarah Beth, Greg Manning, Warwick, R.I. (3-2-4-3-3-3-5-7-1), 24 pts; 2. Sunday Driver, Robert Carballal, Centerport, N.Y. (4-6-2-6-2-1-2-5-5), 27; 3. Ricochet, Thomas Lee, Essex., Conn. (1-3-1-7-7-5-1-4-6), 28; WHITE 5 – J109 1. Phoebe’s Phling, Charlie Milligan, Newport, R.I. (4-3-3-1-1-13-3-4-4), 23 pts; 2. Storm, Rick Lyall, Wilton, Conn. (3-6-7-2-6-3-4-1-1), 26; 3. Electra, Craig Crossley, Barrington, R.I. (2-1-4-6-11-2-1-6-5), 27; WHITE 6 – J105 1. Pretty Sketchy, Tom Enright, Bristol, R.I. (2-4-1-3-6-9-9-1-10), 35 pts; 2. Savasana, Brian Keane, Weston, Mass. (13-12-7-1-2-1-7-9-1), 40; 3. Eclipse, Damian Emery, Shoreham, N.Y. (10-1-3-4-10-10-15-3-2), 43; BLUE 1 – BEN 36.7 1. M&M’s, Mark & Mara Ploch, New York, N.Y. (1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1), 9 pts; 2. Jubilee, Cal Huge, Summerville, N.C. (2-2-3-3-2-3-2-3-3-2), 22; 3. Quokka, Tom Peelen, S. Dartmouth, Mass. (3-3-2-2-3-2-4-4-2-3), 24; BLUE 2 – PHRF 87-108 1. Remedy, Evelyn 32, John Fries, Waterford, Conn. (2-1-1-2-1-6-3-1-1-DNS), 18 pts; 2. XLR8, Carrera 280, Bradford Porter, Westbrook, Conn. (1-2-10-1-10-1-1-4-6-1), 27; 3. Deviation, Sov 33, Iris Vogel, New Rochelle, N.Y. (3-10-4-9-3-3-4-2-5-10), 43; BLUE 3 -PHRF 111-123 1. Cooch, J29, H. Wes Maxwell, Stonington, Conn. (2-1-1-3-2-3-2-1-4-1), 16 pts; 2. Showdown, J29, Bijan Rasadi, Groton, Conn. (4-2-2-2-1-2-4-3-5-4), 24; 3. Exhilaration, X332, Chris Hubbard, Riverdale, N.Y. (1-3-3-1-6-8-3-9-8-6), 39.5; BLUE 4 -PHRF 129-135 1. Chinook, J30, Carrie Austin, Ridgewood, N.Y. (1-1-1-7-1-8-5-1-1-1), 19 pts; 2. Cymothoe, Sabre 362, David Alldian, Brick, N.J. (8-4-4-2-4-2-2-3-2-3), 26; 3. Lunatic Fringe, Ls 10, Robert & Bill Lehnert, Cutchogue, N.Y. (7-2-3-1-7-6-1-6-3-2), 31; Swedish Match Tour 2004-’05 Championship Leaderboard 1. Peter Gilmour/AUS, Pizza-La Sailing Team 102 points 2. Ed Baird/USA, Team Musto 102 points 3. Russell Coutts/NZL, Coutts Racing 70 points 4. Jes Gram-Hansen/DEN, Gram-Hansen Racing 45 points 5. Philippe Presti/FRA, le Defi 44 points 6. Staffan Lindberg/FIN 38 points 7. James Spithill/AUS, Luna Rossa Challenge 35 points 8. Bertrand Pace/FRA 34 points There is one event remaining in the series, and the championship will go to Gilmour or Baird depending on their finishes. For more, go to www.swedishmatchtour.com
