Racing NewsErnesto Shakes Up Farr 40 Pre WorldsTropical storm Ernesto made its presence felt at the Farr 40 Pre Worlds in Newport, R.I., delivering large swells and unpredictable gusts that forced the 38-boat fleet to sail inside Narragansett Bay for the second day of the event.The swirling conditions made for big shake-ups throughout the fleet. Barking Mad, skippered by local Jim Richardson, came out on top despite finishing 18th in the first race. On the other hand, the first day leader, Evolution, dropped to 16th overall after scoring a 25 and a DNS on the second day. The Farr 40 Worlds start September 6 in Newport. For more information, click here. Blue Yankee Wins Vineyard Race BlowoutErnesto also wreaked havoc on the Vineyard Race, stirring up 12-foot waves and 45-knot winds on Block Island Sound. Of the 26 boats that started the 238-mile race in Stamford, Conn., on Friday, only three finished. Robert Towse’s Reichel Pugh 66 Blue Yankee came in first, followed by Lawrence Huntington’s Ker IRC 50 Snow Lion and Rich du Moulin’s Express 37 Lora Ann.To access the Stamford YC’s complete race coverage, click here. Americans Outmatch French in Italy BMW ORACLE Racing capped off a stellar performance at the Trieste Challenge, held in Italy exclusively for America’s Cup teams, by defeating Areva Challenge 3-2 in the finals. After going undefeated in the double round robin series, BMW ORACLE Racing gave up two races to Areva Challenge in the finals. In the deciding race, the Americans passed the French on the third leg and held on to win the race and the regatta. The Trieste Challenge, formerly known as the Nations Cup, is sailed in 50-foot Open class boats requiring a 10-person crew. For more information about the event, click here.U.S. Team Shines in Olympic PreviewThe U.S. Sailing Team scored big at The Good Luck Beijing regatta in Qingdao, China, a critical test event held at the 2008 Olympic sailing venue. Top-ranked female Paige Railey won the Laser Radial class, after running up a substantial lead in the first 10 races. In the Star class, Andy Horton and Brad Nichol won gold, while George Szabo and Eric Monroe won bronze.For results, photos, profiles, audio reports, and diaries from U.S. Sailing Team members who competed in the regatta, click here. Industry NewsSailFlow Adds Two Annapolis BuoysSailFlow.com, a website that provides real time wind readings from more than 300 weather buoys at popular sailing locations around the country, has added two more stations at key spots in Annapolis, Md.Combined with SailFlow’s existing three sites in the area, the new Greenbury Point and Tolly Point sites will give Annapolis sailors a more complete picture of their local racing area.To visit SailFlow’s online weather reporting center, click here.US Sailing Symposiums Headed to The Big EasyUS Sailing will hold its National Sailing Programs Symposium at the Marriot Convention Center in New Orleans January 17-21, 2007. The 24th annual event, presented this year by Vanguard Sailboats, will offer numerous educational seminars and workshops for sailing program organizers, focusing on what it takes to run a successful sailing program.US Sailing’s One Design Sailing Symposium will take place January 20-21 at the same location. Participants may attend both symposiums at a discounted rate. For more information about the symposiums, click here. OCD Designing Mike Golding’s Next Open 60 Current IMOCA and FICO world champion Mike Golding announced that Owen Clarke Design (OCD) will design his new Open 60 for the 2008 Vendee Globe. Working with Team New Zealand designer Clay Oliver, OCD will design ECOVER II as a complete redesign of ECOVER I, which Golding will race in the Velux 5 Oceans starting in October. Hakes Marine in Wellington, New Zealand will build the new boat, which is sponsored by Ecover, a maker of environmentally friendly cleaning products.For the latest news from the Mike Golding Yacht Racing team, click here.
