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Timber!—Sailing News from the U.S. and Beyond

18skiffs2011d2-04wH - 18ft Skiff International Regatta 2011 - San Francisco - Day 2  Rich Roberts ©

In terms of sheer speed, power and adrenaline in a (relatively) simple package, it's virtually impossible to beat the 18-foot skiff. And in terms of sailing venues, it's downright impossible to beat San Francisco Bay when it comes to consistently delivering the goods, both in terms of boisterous breeze and surfing-friendly seas. Add the two and you quickly arrive at a regatta, where even the top sailors are spending time swimming.

18skiffs2011d2-03H - 18ft Skiff International Regatta 2011 - San Francisco - Day 2  Rich Roberts ©

'That's what makes them fun to sail,' said San Francisco local Howie Hamlin about racing 18s on the Bay. Hamlin, it should be noted, is currently sitting in second place in the 18-foot Skiff International Regatta, along with crewmembers Matt Noble and Paul Allen, amongst a leader board that's chockablock full of Aussie accents. But, given the Bay's storied reputation for flipping boats, as well as the series' six remaining races, the podium is far from decided. Stay tuned for more as it turns up (pun intended).

In offshore sailing circles, Francis Joyon flipped his maxi trimaran, IDEC, some fifty miles off of Newport, Rhode Island during an ill-fated east-west solo Transatlantic record attempt. Joyon had passed the starting point, off of Ambrose Light, just after 0800 hours and had been sailing in what has been described as wildly variable conditions when his ride suddenly ended, suddenly, some seven hours after starting. Joyon was thankfully unharmed but he too spent some time swimming before getting inside IDEC via an escape hatch. The French soloist is now working with tugboat operators to determine how to best right IDEC. More inside.

Laser Heavy Weather Slalom 2011 - Laser Heavy Weather Slalom 2011  Ultimate Yacht Shots 2011

In keeping with our themes of San Francisco and wiping out— dinghy sailors (and reformed Laser sailors) should pay special attention to the great wrap-up coverage from the St. Francis Yacht Club's 2011 Heavy Weather Slalom event. As the event's name implies, the opportunity for pitch poling, death rolling or even free falling was high. 'I needed to gybe, I got a huge puff and was just not going to make the gybe,' reported Scott Ferguson, a veteran the fleet's most impressive catapult ride. 'Making the gybe is the difference between staying in the race - or not! It was a lot of fun.' Be sure to check out the report and the fantastic wipeout video footage, in this issue.

And because sailing is supposed to be about lift—not lifejackets—be sure to check out Erik Simonson and Christophe Favreau's image galleries from the 18-foot Skiff International Regatta. While the spray is flying, all masts are (mostly) vertical...at least in these frames.

May the four winds blow you safely home,

David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor

18ft Skiff International Regatta day 3 - Make room at the top Rich Roberts, The three tenors---John Winning, Howie Hamlin and Trevor Barnabas---now need to make room for two more contenders when the competition rolls into the final acts Thursday and Friday. Hamlin's win in the second race Tuesday has him one point behind Winning, the week-long leader now with 11 points after everyone chucked their worst finish after the fifth race.... [more] Share this story

Region of Murcia Trophy - Strong starts Sabina Mollart-Rogerson, The Audi MedCup Circuit's Region of Murcia Trophy is currently in progress and Russia's Synergy Sailing Team has managed to maintain their impressive record for making solid starts to this season's Audi MedCup Circuit regattas when they won the first race of the Region of Murcia-Cartagena Trophy event.... [more] Share this story

ISAF Training Scholarship–Iceland and Trinidad and Tobago make it five International Sailing Federation, The ISAF Training and Development Department is pleased to announce that the IOC Olympic Solidarity department has agreed to fund two Training Scholarship candidates from Trinidad and Tobago and one from Iceland. Both Trinidad and Tobago and Iceland have become the eighth and ninth ISAF Member National Authority (MNA) to benefit from the ISAF Training Scholarship since its creation in 2010... [more] Share this story

Buddy Melges Challenge day 1 – Team Maclaren undefeated Anna Tunnicliffe, Buddy Meldges Challenge - Racing started on time this morning and ten flights were sailed. We started our regatta well by winning all six races to finish the day with a 6-0 overall record. Of the 16 teams sailing, all teams got four races in, with some teams getting in up to six races. We started racing as the rain came in which killed the wind and left a nice slop for us to fight upwind.... [more] Share this story

Clipper Round the World Yacht Race – Leading trio cross the Equator Heather Ewing, Clipper Round the World Yacht Race – The leading trio of yachts have crossed the Equator and passed from the Northern to the Southern Hemisphere, a major milestone for the non-professional crews on board and an important psychological one as their lead over the chasing pack continues to grow.... [more] Share this story

Volvo Ocean Race: Why sail strategy could hold key to victory Volvo Ocean Race media, With no one team looking likely to deliver any significant raw speed advantage straight out of the blocks, the 2011–12 edition of the Volvo Ocean Race looks set to produce some of the closest racing ever. 'I think the sails are probably going to hold the key even more so this time' Ian Walker Stuart Bannatyne, watch captain on CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand, believes that the latest rou... [more] Share this story

Audi Hamilton Island Race Week - Iconic sailing trophies on display Lisa Ratcliff, Audi Hamilton Island Race Week - For the first time ever, two of the most significant trophies in the sport of sailing, have been displayed together. The America's Cup and the Admiral's Cup are on show this week at the Hamilton Island Yacht Club. The oldest trophy in the history of international sport, the America's Cup, arrived on Hamilton Island yesterday afternoon.... [more] Share this story

C. Thomas Clagett Jr. Memorial Regatta overall Jan Harley, C. Thomas Clagett Jr. Memorial Regatta, North America's premier event for sailors with disabilities, concluded after three days of racing on Narragansett Bay. The standings leaders in the three Paralympic classes – the three-person Sonar, the two-person SKUD-18, and the singlehanded 2.4 Metre – were confirmed as winners... [more] Share this story

Tûranor PlanetSolar: Quiet Achiever Guy Nowell, Sail-World Asia, Tûranor PlanetSolar looks very much like one of those educational toys you might buy for a brainy nephew. And with good reason. This boat is a classic example of form-follows-function. A flat top to provide maximum area for the array of solar cells; carbon fibre construction to keep weight to a minimum, an 11-ton array of lithium ion batteries; ultra-slippery wave piercing catamaran hulls... [more] Share this story

Half Ton Classic Cup 2011 Day 2 - A ten hour marathon Fiona Brown, Half Ton Classic Cup 2011 Day 2 race started on the Royal Corinthian start line off Cowes at 07.30 in a 10-12 knot north easterly which got the fleet off to a flying spinnaker reach start.... [more] Share this story

Cork OCR Regatta day 4 Erin Murray, The Cork OCR Regatta on day four witnessed the windsurfer, RS:X and kiteboarder fleets finish their three day event. The Windsurfer Silver fleet saw Giancarlo Brotto in first and Diane Houston in second. The RS:X fleet finished with David Hayes in first, Dominique Vallee in second and Caroline Emmanu de Alcala in third.... [more] Share this story

Maxi trimaran IDEC flips during Atlantic record attempt Sail-World.com, Francis Joyon's maxi-trimaran IDEC has flipped during his solo attempt to break the Atlantic west to east record. The American tug Miller Marine Service (over 100 ft) has joined the maxi trimaran IDEC to assist with the recovery operation.... [more] Share this story

Classic Yacht Regatta set for September 2 Cynthia Goss, The 32nd Annual Museum of Yachting Classic Yacht Regatta sponsored by Panerai is set to begin on September 2 and will take place until September 4 in Newport. The regatta will be hosted by the Museum of Yachting. This event includes two days of racing and will draw a fleet that stands as a time capsule of classic design... [more] Share this story

Saint Francis YC heavy weather Laser Slalom + Video Vincent Casalaina and Michelle Slade, With 25 knots registering on the committee boat the Laser Slalom 2011 fleet hit the water for the wildest ride on the Bay, the St. Francis Yacht Club's Heavy Weather Slalom event.... [more] Share this story

Rolex International Women's Keelboat Championship preview Jake Fish, Rolex International Women's Keelboat Championship - Many of the women competing aboard the 36 teams – which represent 16 U.S. states and three foreign countries (Canada, Great Britain and The Netherlands ) – are packing their pantries with non-perishable groceries, setting up auto reply on their emails, compiling lists for their loving families, and squeezing in a few last minute tacks and jibes.... [more] Share this story

America's Cup: Oracle Racing News - Edition 24 - In Cascais Oracle Racing Media, Oracle Racing's newsletter for 22 August 2011 covering the racing in Cascais... [more] Share this story

If you excel under pressure, Stratis can put you in a prime position. Stephen Prinselaar, It's been a very exciting few months at Doyle sails loft in Auckland as they start seeing the on-the-water race results of their Stratis sail development progamme currently in two of the world's most significant yachting events – the America's Cup and the Rolex Volvo Ocean Race.... [more] Share this story

18ft Skiff International Regatta images by Christophe Favreau Christophe Favreau images, Christophe Favreau's images from today's 18ft Skiff International Regatta races... [more] Share this story

C. Thomas Clagett Jr. Memorial Clinic and Regatta day 2 Jan Harley, C. Thomas Clagett Jr. Memorial Clinic and Regatta - The ninth edition of the premiere event for sailors with disabilities has attracted over 60 competitors racing in four classes of boats: the three-person Sonar, the two-person SKUD-18, the singlehanded 2.4 Metre and the four-person J/22.... [more] Share this story

18ft Skiff International Regatta images by Erik Simonson Erik Simonson images, Erik Simonson images from day 2 of the 18ft Skiff International Regatta on San Francisco Bay.... [more] Share this story

18ft Skiff International Regatta - Out of control? Not quite Rich Roberts, The 18ft Skiff International Regattais being hosted by the St. Francis Yacht Club. The two skippers with three of the wins---Trevor Barnabas on Thurlow Fisher Lawyers from Australia and Howie Hamlin on CST Composites of the USA---aren't immune to the unstable characteristics of the craft they're sailing, which must be comforting to the stragglers.... [more] Share this story

18ft Skiff International Regatta San Francisco - Video interviews Bob Killick, Micheal Coxon out Trevor Barnabus in and with a bullet in race 2.... Up steps Trevor who came over to San Francisco to enjoy spectating with his family, straight into the danger seat on the wheel of Thurlow Fisher Lawyers and nails a bullet in Race 2.... [more] Share this story

Farr 30 World Championship - Preparing for the ultimate ride Farr 30 Class Association, The Farr 30 fleet are preparing for the ‘Ultimate Ride' at what will be the first-ever San Francisco Class World Championship. The Farr 30 (née Mumm 30) is widely acknowledged to be one of the most significant and versatile 30-foot racing yachts ever created.... [more] Share this story

ISAF Sailing World Championships - 100 days to Perth Will Davies, The ISAF Sailing World Championships will tomorrow (Tuesday 23 August) celebrate a significant milestone with just 100 days to go until Perth 2011 which is the biggest international sailing event of the year. The World Championships will take place from 3-18 December, with 1200 athletes from 80 nations competing for ten World Titles in the fresh breezes off Fremantle in Western Australia.... [more] Share this story

Verve Cup day 3 Rachelle Treiber, Two races were completed on Circle A in six - nine knot wind conditions. Circle C had a gorgeous day of racing. Circle B: The wind speed stayed stead at eight plus knots for both races. We began our day with NW winds at 340 degrees, as the day progressed the wind clocked around to NNE.... [more] Share this story

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