America's Cup summit, Olympic classes Europeans, Rio report

by Rob Kothe and the Sail-World team on 14 Jul 2014 Sail-World published our latest interview with Iain Murray from Hamilton Island Yacht Club, the America’s Cup Challenger of Record, on Friday, which produced some important news.

HIYC has taken the initiative and called a meeting of potential Challengers for the 35th America’s Cup, ahead of the close of entries in less than a month’s time. The meeting will be a face to face meeting with about seven Challenger teams attending plus the Defender, Oracle Team USA.

News of this circuit-breaking development came midway through an interview with the Challenger of Record's CEO Iain Murray. The point was raised that extending back into the period of the 1987 America’s Cup and through to 2009, Competitor Forums and Meetings were a regular part of the America’s Cup cycle. Murray was asked by Sail-World.com why these had not yet been called in the current America's Cup cycle.

'We are not waiting until the entries close. We’ll be having a meeting very shortly. It will be face to face, and they have to attend in person,' Murray replied.

Expecting more news from the meeting in the next 24-48 hours.

470 European Championships 2014 - Athens, Greece.

Yesterday, the seventy-three boat 470 Men fleet were split into Gold and Silver for the final series of races, ahead of the top 10 Medal Race on Tuesday 15 July 2014. So two races down today and four more to go to decide the 470 Men top 10. The fifty-one boat 470 Women’s fleet are sailing a single series, so continue as one fleet until the Medal Race.

Lots of Olympic class action ahead of the Olympic test event in Rio in a few weeks’ time, with European titles a precursor to the ISAF Worlds in Santander.

By the time you read this there will be newer results in some classes.

Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen finished fourth at the 49er Europeans in Helsinki today, a dominant display from Pete Burling and Blair Tuke, NZL the 2013 World Champions. It will be interesting to see what changes at the Olympic test event in Rio from August 2-9th and at the Santander ISAF Worlds in September.

Victor Kovalenko says the key to Olympic Gold is world domination in the year before an event, so a lift will be needed soon from the London 2012 Gold Medalists.

A breakthrough event for the Sydney cousins Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin who finished fifth at the Nacra 17 Europeans and the worst result so far for the be-silvered Olympic pairing of Darren Bundock and Nina Curtis who were excused from the medal race finishing for them a disastrous 21st.

But something’s don't seem to change, at the 470 Europeans in Athens, but yesterday two race wins for Mat Belcher/Will Ryan (AUS), the defending 470 Open European Champions, extending their winning margin to 10 points over the second placed team, Finland’s Joonas Lindgren/Niklas.

Just a few hours after the World Cup final in Rio, the focus is switching for the Brazilian administration to the next Big Thing.

Our Marine Business-World Editor, Jeni Bone is a fluent Portuguese speaker and former resident of Rio and she reports on developments there. The next fixture on the calendar for Rio is Aquece Rio, the first of the sailing test events, to be held 2 to 9 August, in the lead up to the 2016 Olympic Games. 10 Olympic classes, 320 athletes from 34 countries will compete of Marina da Gloria, an area notorious for accumulating rubbish on its foreshores and its foul-smelling water.

Read our Rio report below.

Lots more news of course from Australia and beyond.