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Rolex Sydney Hobart news, Extreme sailing and a Personal Challenge

Welcome to this week's UK newsletter.

The Rolex Sydney Hobart is very much the focus in Australia and indeed around the World at present, as the drama and pre-events lead up to the Boxing Day start of this 628 nautical mile, blue water classic, considered by many as one of the toughest ocean races in the world.

Niklas Zennstrom's RAN, the Rolex Fastnet Race overall winner, has only just been offloaded from the transport ship. She is expected to be in action over the next few days, testing the waters off Sydney Harbour.

On the other side of Australia, eight teams in the Clipper Round The World Yacht Race, race 4 from Cape Town South Africa, to Geraldton Western Australia have completed their journey. Still at sea are Cork and Hull & Humber, after starting the leg late following a collision at the start line.

Oman Sail's Masirah skippered by Pete Cumming won the Singapore leg of the Extreme 40 Sailing Series, ISAF announced a series of changes and amendments, the World Yacht Racing Forum concluded in Monaco and the London International Boat Show is gearing up.

And Geoff Holt is attempting his own 'Personal Atlantic' challenge, in a 60ft, purpose-built, wheelchair-accessible catamaran.

We have so much more to share this week, so please enjoy our newsletter.

Sail-World.com Team

Watch the Monsoon Cup World Match Racing Tour, The Monsoon Cup will be airing on Sky Channel 433 in the UK and Ireland tonight Tuesday 15/12/09 at 23.00hrs. It will then be repeated on Sky Channel 437 at 23.00hrs Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.... [more] Onsend this story

Clipper 09-10: Last day in the Southern Ocean for Hull & Humber Clipper Ventures, Clipper 09-10 - Geraldton, Western Australia stopover. The strong winds that turned yesterday's finish into a sprint for the line have eased to a pleasant sea breeze today - keeping the crews cool as they set to work today cleaning their yachts and carrying out routine maintenance.... [more] Onsend this story

All new Normandy Sailing Week Kate Jennings - Expression, the new Normandy Sailing Week, which will take place in Le Havre from 3rd/4th to 6th June 2010, is already set to rank among the events not to be missed. Amongst the one designs, the J 80 class (8 m yacht from the J Boats yard) is the most popular and one of the most dynamic in France.... [more] Onsend this story

Sail Melbourne day four - Limited racing Craig Heydon, Sail Melbourne day four of racing had a stop-start feel with the weather having a major influence on proceedings. Reigning 49er World Champion Nathan Outteridge was left crewless today with Iain Jensen stuck on shore due to illness.... [more] Onsend this story

Class40 in 2010: quite a programme Catherine Ecarlat, The 2009 season has just concluded with the final event of the year, the innovative Solidaire du Chocolat, and so the Class40 committee has turned its attention to 2010.... [more] Onsend this story

Geoff Holt hampered by 20 knot head winds Harriet Courage/Geoff Holt blogspot, Geoff Holt's 'Personal Atlantic' challenge, sees him sailing a 60ft, purpose-built, wheelchair-accessible catamaran on a voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. Here is his latest update.... [more] Onsend this story

Record entries as Cadiz hosts YOG Qualifier for Windsurfer events Ceri Williams - ISAF Media, Organized by the Federacion Andaluza de Vela, this European Qualification event for the windsurfer events at the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games has attracted a record entry of 150 junior racers representing 17 European nations.... [more] Onsend this story

ISAF releases World Sailing Rankings - 16 December 2009 ISAF Media, The ISAF World Sailing Rankings for 16 December 2009 have been released.... [more] Onsend this story

Rolex Sydney Hobart - Can Alfa Romeo spoil the party for Wild Oats XI? Susan Maffei Plowden, Race record-holder Bob Oatley's Wild Oats XI, chasing her fifth consecutive line honours win, faces strongest competition from Neville Crichton's near sister Reichel/Pugh designed Alfa Romeo, and Mike Slade's Rolex Fastnet Race record holder ICAP Leopard, a Farr design from the UK.... [more] Onsend this story

Trifecta of international regattas for Auckland's Festival of Sail Richard Gladwell, Auckland Mayor John Banks announced today the Auckland Festival of Sail — three major international regattas to be held on the Waitemata Harbour in March 2010. The three major intrenational sailing regattas will be held in conjunction with the Auckland International Boat Show The events will bring together leading professional international match racing skippers and teams and top-ranked amateur... [more] Onsend this story

ISAF - New Supplements To Match Racing and Team Racing Call Books ISAF, The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) has published the 2010 supplements to the current editions of The Call Book for Match Racing and The Call Book for Team Racing.... [more] Onsend this story

Sail Melbourne Day 3 Craig Heydon, Sail Melbourne, Day 3 report. Shifting winds dominated the afternoon racing on day three of Sail Melbourne, with the conditions keeping sailors on their toes and forcing them to work hard for every position gained.... [more] Onsend this story

ISAF Sailor Classification Code updated with Group 2 to be eliminated ISAF, Following on from decisions taken at the ISAF Annual Conference, the ISAF Sailor Classification Code is changing and starting from 1 April 2010, the category of Group 2 sailors will be eliminated.... [more] Onsend this story

Clipper 09-10: Fleet arrives in Geraldton Clipper Ventures, Clipper 09-10: In what has been the closest race to date, Team Finland finished just 33 minutes ahead of Spirit of Australia, denying the Australian team the home port victory that they were so desperate to achieve. Crowds of supporters, friends and family lined the breakwater to see the finish and a strong wind, gusting 30 knots, kept the boats fully powered up right to the line.... [more] Onsend this story

IKA launches bid for inclusion at the Olympic Sailing Regatta 2016 International Kiteboarding Class Association, With the successful bid of Rio de Janeiro and the Olympic Sailing Regatta 2016 held on the beaches of the Copacabana, Kiteboarding would perfectly suit into this scenery and add a true highlight to the Olympic Games.... [more] Onsend this story

America's Cup: BMW Oracle Racing leaves San Diego bound for Valencia BMW Oracle Racing Media, The BMW ORACLE Racing team has departed San Diego for Valencia, Spain, in preparation for February's 33rd America's Cup Match. The cargo ship Oceanlady left the Port of San Diego early on Tuesday afternoon and turned south. It will pass through the Panama Canal before heading across the Atlantic Ocean and into the Mediterranean Sea. The trip to Valencia will take approximately three weeks, d... [more] Onsend this story

52' Haspa Hamburg launched in Wellington Adrian Rumney, Tuesday saw the launch in Wellington of the latest build by Hakes Marine, a Judel Vrolijk designed 52' race yacht. Haspa Hamburg is the 14th 'Hamburg' of the Hamburgischer Verien Seefart (HVS) a Hamburg based club that has a focus on giving young sailors the opportunity to learn and exercise offshore sailing and the first of the club's boats to also carry the name of sponsor Haspa Bank.... [more] Onsend this story

World Yacht Racing Forum: Read the wrap and see the Videos MaxComm Communication, See the videos as the World Yacht Racing Forum brings light on future of the America's Cup. Last week's World Yacht Racing Forum America's Cup session brought clear answers from both Alinghi and BMW ORACLE Racing. Publically united for the first time since two years, Russell Coutts and Brad Butterworth agreed on several key elements.... [more] Onsend this story

Clipper 09-10 - Race 4 Finish line in sight for some teams Clipper Ventures, Clipper 09-10: Race 4, Cape Town to Geraldton, Western Australia. Day 23 report. Everything is still to play for in Race 4 and despite extending their lead over the Australian team to 14 nautical miles, the crew on board Team Finland is not foolish enough to assume that line honours will be theirs.... [more] Onsend this story

Extreme Sailing Series Asia - Oman Sail's Masirah leads series Extreme Sailing Series Asia and Sail-World.com, Sailing Series Asia - Round 2 - Singapore. A thunderstorm, with heavy rain and lightning stopped the final day's proceedings. The heavy downpour was relentless, forcing the Race Committee to abandon the race and the day's sailing for safety reasons as lightning powered down over Marina Reservoir.... [more] Onsend this story

America's Cup: Appeal decision announced on Rules and Venue Richard Gladwell, In a not unexpected decision, the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court has declined to uphold the Appeal lodged by SNG in respect of the Venue and Rules issues. Accordingly the Match will take place in Valencia on 8 February 2010.... [more] Onsend this story

Sail Melbourne Day 2 - Top crews move further ahead Sail Melbourne media, Sail Melbourne Day 2. What a difference a day makes. After the strong breeze and heavy seas of day one, today was a completely different picture at Sail Melbourne with light winds and very little swell dictating play.... [more] Onsend this story

SP and High Modulus combine after Gurit acquisition Hannah Keddie, SP, the marine business of Gurit – supplier to the race boat, superyacht and high-performance custom, production and workboat sector – has acquired its composite engineering and materials competitor High Modulus and will now operate under the new brand name, SP/HighModulus.... [more] Onsend this story

Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy host Ainslie book signing Katie Doerr, The Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy hosts book signing with Ben Ainslie CBE on Saturday 12th December 2009. The book signing was extremely well attended by the local community who were keen to meet Britain's Greatest Olympic Sailor and purchase a copy of his recently published autobiography ‘Close to the Wind'.... [more] Onsend this story

Tullett Prebon London International Boat Show on from 8 - 17 Jan 2010 Tullett Prebon London International Boat Show News, Running from 8-17 January, the Show will feature hundreds of boats and with over 400 exhibitors showcasing power and sail boats, dinghies, engines, electronics, deck equipment, charter holidays, sailing courses and more, there's no better way to discover the thrills of getting on the water.... [more] Onsend this story

Clipper 09-10 crews start to feel pressure as finish line looms Clipper Ventures, Clipper 09-10: Day 23 Cape Town to Geraldton, Western Australia. The first of the fleet is expected into Geraldton on Wednesday evening or early Thursday morning.... [more] Onsend this story

Fourteen top Singapore Youth Sailors experience Life at the Extreme Extreme Sailing Series Asia, Extreme Sailing Series Asia. In Singapore fourteen young sailors got the ride of their life this morning as they stepped onboard two Extreme 40s with some of the world's best sailors at the Marina Reservoir. It wasn't just fun for the youth sailors, the opportunity to take the stars of the future out sailing was also a treat for the professional crews.... [more] Onsend this story

World Sailing Cup - Sail Melbourne Day 1 Sail Melbourne media, Day one of racing at the 2009 Sail Melbourne regatta is complete with a strong breeze and big waves providing perfect racing conditions for the opening round of the 2009/2010 ISAF Sailing World Cup. Canada's Michael Leigh leads the Laser Class, Page Raily (USA) leaders Laser Radials and Australia's Page and Belcher the M470... [more] Onsend this story

Little Boat Challenge: From Maxis to Minis Lisa Ratcliff, Rolex Sydney Hobart Media team, This morning representatives from seven of the eight maxis lining up for this year's Rolex Sydney Hobart became mini boat skippers, racing two feet long model boats in the inaugural Little Boat Challenge. Neville Crichton's Alfa Romeo, represented by helmsman Erle Williams, won the best of three series with two wins while Wild Oats XI's skipper Mark Richards picked up one victory.... [more] Onsend this story

BMW Oracle Racing packs up and leaves San Diego bmworacleracingblog.blogspot.com, From bmworacleracingblog.blogspot.com: Friday was a bittersweet day in the BMW Oracle Racing team campaign. Our time in San Diego is coming to a close, and during the afternoon, one hour ahead of schedule, the BOR 90 was moved from the team base to on board the cargo ship the Ocean Lady, which will transport it to Valencia.... [more] Onsend this story

18ft Skiffs NSW Champions continue form Frank Quealey, Syd Barnett Jr. Memorial Trophy - The strong wind took a toll on the fleet with leading contenders Gotta Love It 7 (Seve Jarvin) and Rag & Famish Hotel (John Harris) both forced out with gear damage. With the 3-buoys handicap system in operation for the race, the fleet was closely bunched for the first spinnaker run from Clarke Island to Obelisk Bay.... [more] Onsend this story

Extreme Sailing Series Asia - Consistency pays on a tough day Extreme Sailing Series Asia, Extreme Sailing Series Asia. The fleet in Singapore had everything thrown at them today as they contended with an intense 15 minute rainstorm, wind that peaked at 12 knots and then they were left crawling around the racecourse as the wind dropped to just 1.2 knots.... [more] Onsend this story

Clipper 09-10: Closely packed fleet heads for Geraldton Clipper Ventures, Clipper 09-10 Day 22 Cape Town to Geraldton, Western Australia. Spirit of Australia closes in for the kill as Team Finland emerges from Stealth Mode.... [more] Onsend this story

Big rigs mistake helps Jackson Electrical take NZ 18ft skiff title 18ft Skiff Association, Jackson Electrical sailed by Chris Skinner, Luke Gower and Dave Healy are the 2009 NZ 18ft skiff Champions following a consistent series in difficult conditions, in which they won half the races and didn't finish outside the top three in any races.... [more] Onsend this story

NZ Marine hosts Kiwi Kawau Challenge for superyachts Kate Gordon, The New Zealand Marine Export Group Inc. (NZ Marine) is inviting superyachts – both sail and motor – to participate in a one-off race and social event as part of the build-up to the Louis Vuitton World Series in Auckland in March 2010.... [more] Onsend this story

Jules Verne Trophy - Groupama 3 heads back out to sea Cammas-Groupama 3, Jules Verne Trophy - Jules Verne Trophy. It was this Saturday morning at 0600 UTC that the trimaran Groupama 3 cast off from the port of Cape Town, South Africa, bound for Brest some 6,000 miles (11,000 kms) away, where she will begin her second period of stand-by for the Jules Verne Trophy.... [more] Onsend this story

PKRA Tour awarded Kiteboarding 2010 Freestyle World Title Markus Schwendtner, The International Kiteboarding Association (IKA) announced today, that following a decision of the IKA Executive Committee, the PKRA Freestyle Tour will exclusively lead towards the 2010 Freestyle World Title. The IKA freestyle world ranking system will still combine all world ranking events into one united ranking, including national, continental and world tour events. Competitors thus find a cle... [more] Onsend this story

Extreme Sailing Series Asia - Capsize the word of the day Extreme Sailing Series Asia, Extreme Sailing Series Asia and for Rumbo Almeria it was a busy day. The Wave, Muscat, Red Bull Extreme Sailing Team and China Team were all sailing on the edge of their comfort zones as they each battled to keep their Extreme 40 the right way up as the wind channelled between the buildings in gusts of up to 16 knots.... [more] Onsend this story

Clipper 09-10: Team Finland goes into 'Stealth' mode Clipper Ventures PLC, Current race leaders, Team Finland has chosen this moment to go into Stealth Mode which is a new feature in the 09-10 race. With only one nautical mile between their distances to finish at the 0600GMT position report this morning, a three-boat battle has commenced between Jamaica Lightning Bolt, Qingdao and Edinburgh Inspiring Capital.... [more] Onsend this story

Asafa Powell was taken to new Extremes Thierry Martinez, Olympic 4x100m gold medallist and previous 100m world record holder Asafa Powell was taken to new Extremes when he stepped onboard double-Olympic Gold Medallist Shirley Robertson's catamaran racing in the Extreme Sailing Series Asia in Singapore today, Saturday 12 December.... [more] Onsend this story

Spectacular Extreme Sailing Series Kicks Off in Singapore Extreme Sailing Series media, Extreme Sailing Series Singapore - Day 1 was dedicated as a Media and VIP day. Local sailor, Tan Wearn Haw, helm of China Team was pleased with his team's performance. 'I think it is a wonderful thing that the Extreme 40s have come here to Singapore. The city has a lot to offer and bringing the series here will hopefully bring more people in to sailing and show off the beautiful city of Singapore.... [more] Onsend this story

Entry deadline closing in for the Shetland Round Britain & Ireland Clare Gilbert, The closing date for entries for next year's Shetland Round Britain & Ireland race is just one month away (January 31st). With a maximum of 50 boats allowed and 44 competitors already booked in spaces are limited. The race will depart from Plymouth on 6th June 2010 and see the competitors sail 2000 nautical miles around the UK coastline. The race has been hosted by the Royal Western Yacht Club eve... [more] Onsend this story

America's Cup skippers reflect and look to future at Monaco Forum Alinghi, BMW Oracle and World Yacht Racing Forum, Two long time friends Alinghi skipper and CEO Brad Butterworth (NZL) and BMW Oracle Racing CEO, Russell Coutts both addressed the America's Cup session at the World Yacht Racing Forum in Monaco. Both gave presentations on their respective Defence and Challenge and the participated in a forum on the future, shape and options for the 34th America's Cup. More than 500 delegates walked into the... [more] Onsend this story

Clipper 09-10: Team Finland feels the pressure Clipper Ventures PLC, Clipper 09-10: Race 4 Race from Cape Town to Geraldton, Western Australia. 'No room for complacency,' says Jamaica Lightning Bolt's skipper.... [more] Onsend this story

Starting Eligibility for Competitors of the KPWT/IKF Markus Schwendtner, The International Kiteboarding Association (IKA) regret that KPWT and IKF have chosen to divide the international kiteboarding community by going their way separate from IKA and ISAF (International Sailing Federation).... [more] Onsend this story

Round 2 of the Extreme Sailing Series Asia gets 'In Gear' in Singapore Extreme Sailing Series Asia, The Formula 1 pit Lane in Singapore is in action again, but this time not to the drone of engines... A new type of sport is in town for five days - the Extreme Sailing Series Asia. Singapore Events Marina Reservoir will play host to the second round of the inaugural Extreme Sailing Series Asia starting this Friday 11th December. Six state of the art 40-foot catamarans, each crewed by a team of fou... [more] Onsend this story

Valencia, Alinghi and BMW Oracle reach agreement on America's Cup ValenciaSailing.com, ValenciaSailing.com is reporting that Alinghi, BMW Oracle and representatives from the local, regional and central government of Spain met today at the headquarters of the Valencia 2007 organization in order to start working on the organizational details of the event.... [more] Onsend this story

Louis Vuitton Trophy will run with Auckland International Boat Show Richard Gladwell, Louis Vuitton's Bruno Trouble has confirmed that the next Louis Vuitton Trophy regatta will take place in Auckland beginning on 10 March 2010. At this stage, due to what are believed to be budget considerations, only two boats will be used between the eight teams competing. It is believed that the Emirates Team NZ boats will be used, the BMW Oracle Racing boats on standby.... [more] Onsend this story

Denial of Service ‘Pirates' attacks slowed Sail-World.com TetraMedia's IT Team, A bit of a seaway out there!! For the last 48 hours Sail-World, Powerboat-World and MarineBusiness-World and another 50 or so sites, hosted on the TetraMedia servers in Sydney have been bombarded with hacker 'pirate'attacks.... [more] Onsend this story

All classes still up for grabs in the 2009 Sail Down Under Series Yachting Australia Media, The race for class victories in the 2009 Sail Down Under Series is heating up with just one regatta left to run and all the fleets still in the balance. The deciding regatta is Sail Mellbourne - December 14 to 19 - first round of the 2009-2010 ISAF Sailing World Cup... [more] Onsend this story

International Kiteboarding Class Association A G M Roundup International Kiteboarding Class Association, This years AGM held in Paris has seen great reception by the nearly 40 delegates from national class associations, industry, tour operators and other parties interested in the development of international kiteboarding.... [more] Onsend this story

Global Ocean Race on the World Yacht Racing Forum Global Ocean Race Media, Knut Frostad, CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race, was one of the keynote speakers on the second day of the WYRF and supplied invaluable insight into the mechanics behind this highly successful event and shared the stage with Josh Hall, Race Director of the Global Ocean Race, in a debate on methods of cutting overall costs in yacht racing... [more] Onsend this story

World Yacht Racing Forum: the Business of Yacht Racing, Final Day MaxComm Communication, Among the highlights of the day were the America's Cup session - with the exceptional presence of both Russell Coutts, Paul Cayard and Brad Butterworth - as well as the contributions by double Vendée Globe winner Michel Desjoyeaux and Brown GP F1 team CEO Nick Fry... [more] Onsend this story

ISAF launches Olympic Solidarity Scholarship Sailing Course ISAF Marketing and Media, The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) has launched the Sport Specific Training in Sailing Course to develop qualified training programme managers around the world... [more] Onsend this story

Discovery Yacht 67, number one, completes the ARC 2009 Saltwater Communications, The first Discovery 67, from UK based Discovery Yachts has successfully completed the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) arriving in St Lucia after 15 days 18 hours 19 minutes at sea and finishing 54th out of the 210 starters.... [more] Onsend this story

Clipper 09-10: 'Groundhog Day' for Uniquely Singapore Clipper Ventures PLC, Clipper 09-10 Race 4 from Cape Town to Geraldton, Western Australia - The last four days of racing have seen the margins between the yachts remain fairly static and even the smallest gains over competitors have been difficult to come by as the teams maintain the kind of focus demanded of elite sports men and women to wring every last knot of boat speed from the available wind.... [more] Onsend this story

WestPac Hobie Champs 2010 slated for Boracay Boracay International Organizing Committee, The location is ideal for Hobie racing. In February the predominant ‘Habagat' wind blows from the east, providing good winds and calm waters for the racing area inside the reef. Taking part in the competition will be Hobie 16s and Hobie Tigers. The Tigers will be shipped in especially for the event from Hong Kong and Pattaya, Thailand.... [more] Onsend this story