Serious sailing and April Fools—Sailing news from the U.S. and beyond
by David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor on 1 Apr 2016
Race 9, Day 5 - 2015-16 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race Clipper Ventures
I’ve often chuckled at the fact that racing sailors in the Northern Hemisphere are (largely) spared having to race on April Fools’ Day, as this annual holiday that celebrates the practical jokers amongst us has the potential for serious hijinks and full-bore tomfoolery. Imagine dinghy sailors secretly steeling stern plugs from their rivals’ boats, or big-boat sailors donning SCUBA gear and wrapping their competitor’s rudders with kelp, weeds or old fishing line…and then imagine ensuing kerfuffles! While some people would be smiling, it’s likely for the best that these sorts of hijinks are (largely) left to our friends DownUnder!
While the odds are good that parents out there have been contending with a menagerie of April’s Fools Day gags courtesy of their shortest “crewmembers”, the Volvo Ocean Race was certainly not joking when they announced the name of their new CEO, who will be replacing the giant shoes that Knut Frostad successfully filled for almost a decade. Fans of this spectacular around-the-world race will be pleased to know that Frostad’s successor not only has the business acumen to lead the race, but-like Frostad-is also a veteran of this grueling event. Get the full scoop, inside this issue.
Meanwhile, Olympic hopefuls competing at the Trofeo SAR Princesa Sofía Iberostar (March 25-April 2), which is currently taking place off of Playa de Palma, Mallorca, are certainly taking this high-level event seriously, as the regatta represents one of their last international competitions (and speed checks) prior to the starting guns at this summer’s Rio Olympics 2016.
For U.S.-flagged sailors racing in the Laser, RS:X, and RS:X Women’s classes, this is their second (and final) international qualifier for a berth in Rio, lending the regatta extra gravitas. At the time of this writing, American sailors were in the Top Ten in the 470, the 470 Women’s, the 49er FX, the Laser, the RS:X Women’s, and the 2.4 Meter classes.
Racing concludes on Saturday, so be sure to stay current with the webpage over the weekend to learn more about the sailors who will be representing the Stars and Stripes in Rio this summer.
Meanwhile, the Melges 32 class is about to begin racing for the 2016 Lauderdale Cup (April 1-3), and while competition begins on April 1, you can bet your last roll of duct tape that April Fools’ Day pranks and will not be tolerated on this prestigious racecourse. According to reports, inside, many of the top Melges 32 teams from around the world will be attending this event, which serves as the third and final event in Melges 32 Blue Water Series.
And for fans of offshore racing, the leaders of the Clipper Round the World Race are nearing the halfway mark of their mammoth 5,768-nautical-mile leg that’s taking the feet of 12 identical, Tony Castro-designed 70-footers from Qingdao, China to Seattle, Washington. One can only imagine that there’s at least one or two practical jokers aboard these 70-footers-somewhere in the deepest, bluest swath of the Pacific Ocean-who are just chomping at the bit for an opportunity for some lighthearted shenanigans aimed at their shipmates.
In the meantime, however, all Clipper skippers are focused on an important scoring gate, which will set up the next several days of their race. Here, it seems, that Mother Nature might have a few tricks of her own for the fleet, but-unlike April’s Fools Day jokers-she is capable of delivering her wrath irrespective of calendar dates.
And finally, the United States Coast Guard wasn’t joking when they announced that they have removed the Conditions of Entry on vessels returning from the once-isolated island nation of Cuba. Learn more about this latest thawing of international relations between the U.S. and Cuba, inside this issue.
May the four winds blow you safely home,
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