Can Glen Bourke win his first SB20 World title?

by Rob Kothe and the Sail-World Team on 20 Dec 2012 The UON SB20 World Championships fifth day of racing was held at Hamilton Island yesterday and Australia’s Glenn Bourke and his strong Club Marine crew of Andrew York and Greg McAllanSmith caught up to the Pointscore leaders, Oleg Zherebtsov and Rodion Luka’s Team Russia, which has occupied the top spot since day two.

Bourke’s second, fourth and bullet in the last race on day five has put them on equal 33 points with Team Russia and second on a count back. Bourke was one of the SB20 (SB3) pioneers winning the Europeans three times, during the period he was UK based as the CEO of the Volvo Round the World Race. In those days the Europeans was the peak event, no worlds had been sanctioned so a World title for the class veteran would be a just reward. An interesting day ahead!!

In a mind boggling announcement UK Sport says GBR Sailing will receive £24,515,072, ($40 shy of AUD $38 million dollars) for the 2013-2017 Olympic cycle after British sailorS delivered five medals at the London Olympic Games.

How much money might they have received if they had they been in Australia’s position where the sport won 43% of all its countries Gold Medals.

Vendée Globe skipper Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire) has taken the lead from Francois Gabart (Macif) as the two leaders sailed under Tasmania. Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec 3), on his own in third, is losing ground to the leaders. We smiled at the latest Vendee Globe release title which informed with the unfortunate words Dick Slipping.

Today John Curnow details the rise and rise of the RS200, with a fleet establishing quickly in Melbourne, with fifteen boats soon to be on the water at just one club.

It’s the two-person RS200, now with numbers well past 1500; it has a huge following in UK and Europe. It’s a lightweight open-cockpitted, bowsprit enhanced, 8.29m2 asymmetric ‘chute flying, non-trapeze fun machine. Read all about it.

As you’d expect there is a steady flow of news from the Rolex Sydney to Hobart, much of it focussing as usual on the big boats. Our first Rolex Sydney Hobart newsletter will hit cyberspace tomorrow. Technology has moved on in the last year, so we will reveal some more Sail-World innovations in race coverage as a Christmas present for you.

The winning yacht in the 2012 Launceston to Hobart Yacht Race will receive full recognition for its performances under all handicap categories, while yacht owner/skippers will select the winner of a new award for an outstanding skipper.

Melbourne to Hobart (west coast) and east coast, Melbourne to Launceston and Launceston to Hobart.

And in an interesting back story, we bring you an interview with Dean Barker on the Emirates Team NZ's America's Cup development program. It’s about the two SL33's run by the design and sailing teams, as test boats. They are being fitted with all kinds of modified hulls and appendages as the Kiwis gear up for a very strong challenge to the US Oracle camp next September in San Francisco.

We trust you are having a great week in the run up to Christmas and Boxing Day.

Our Sail-World staff party will be in cyber space this weekend with our team scattered across North America, UK-Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. So we can invoke the sun is over the yard arm excuse 24x7

Trust we all enjoy a few quiet little drinks in the weeks ahead and of course in Hobart, they will get progressively nosy as always.