Minus 20 degrees tonight…

by Rob Kothe and the Sail-World Team on 17 Jan 2014 Yes that is a negative, while Australia boils, the northern hemisphere freezes.

Just walked back from the Royal Danish Yacht Club 300 metres in Copenhagen, past the Karen Blixen Museum in blowing snow. 40cm forecast tomorrow.

We are in northern Europe ahead of Boot Dusseldorf. With winds gusting to 30 knots, it’s a solid minus 20 degrees wind chill.

Sailing-wise they breed them tough up here. Dan Ibsen the Vice President of Eurosaf, the 44 nation European sailing peak body, tells of launching his 470 from the edge of the ice for winter pre-Olympic training sessions in 1976.

Sail-World is about to add Norwegian and Danish and Japanese to its technical sailing glossary ... but realised we left out one of sailings most technical Anglo Saxon sailing words, as we came out of the restaurant to be hit by the icy Artic blast ... ohh F...k!

Adelaide it aint.

Gill Melges 24 Worlds Championship 2014 - Six of the top ten finishers from the last Melges 24 World Championship are readying for the class’ first Southern Hemisphere staging of their pinnacle international event.

Geelong’s Festival of Sails January 21-27, now with more than 300 entries, will incorporate the Melges 24 Australian Open Nationals as a shakedown to the main event, the World Championship, to be staged on the same expanse of water. Racing will commence Wednesday January 29 through to Sunday February 2, 2014, when the world champion for 2014 will be declared.

Twelve of the world’s best youth match racing skippers will converge on Perth this month to compete in the 12th Warren Jones International Youth Match Racing Regatta, a Grade 2 event sailed on the Swan River.

Managed by Swan River Sailing and hosted by the Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club, the regatta will run from the 27th to the 31st January.

Four West Australian skippers will be joined by two from Sydney, one from Japan, one from the United States and four from New Zealand.

Current title holder David Gilmour looms as the man to beat this year, having enjoyed a fabulous year on the international circuit, bouncing him up the Alpari world rankings to number 13, leap frogging his famous father, Peter in the process.

At 23:29 GMT on 14 January the Giovanni Soldini skippered 70fter Maserati crossed the finish line of the 14th edition of the Cape2Rio, establishing the new speed record for the race.

Giovanni Soldini and Maserati team sailed the 3,300 miles between Cape Town and Rio de Janeiro in 10 days, 11 hours, 29 minutes, 57 seconds.

The current record for the longest race between two continents in the southern hemisphere (3,300 nautical miles) was previously held by Zephyrus IV, a 74’ American maxi which covered the distance in 12 days, 16 hours and 49 minutes. To beat that time, Maserati had to get to Rio de Janeiro by 4.00 GMT on January 17th, and finished well inside that mark.

Her nearest rivals continue to lag well behind with the Sandringham sailor Rob Date's 52 footer Scarlet Runner in second place, with the South African entry Open Explora is in third on the water.

Lots more news as always!!