Australian Olympic Squad, NZ Noumea yacht in trouble, Croaky crowned

Neville Crichton's "Alfa Romeo" heads south to take line honors in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2009. - 65th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2009  Howard Wright /IMAGE Professional Photography ©

The full Australian Olympic Sailing squad for London 2012 has been named

The team was finalised today with the addition of Olympic gold medallists Elise Rechichi and Belinda Stowell (470), Brendan Casey (Finn), Krystal Weir (Laser Radial) and the Women's Match Racing team of Olivia Price, Nina Curtis and Lucinda Whitty.

Krystal Weir after winning in Holland - London 2012 Olympic Games  Sander van der Borch ©

The total sailing team now stands at 13 members, with selections already taken place for five-time Laser world champion Tom Slingsby, 49er world champions Nathan Outerridge and Iain Jensen, 470 world champions Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page and two time former world champion Jessica Crisp in the RS:X racing at her fourth Olympic Games.

The Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) has issued a release confirming they are currently coordinating the rescue of 18 people on board a yacht, Beau Geste around 100 nautical miles east of Norfolk Island.

The 24 metre yacht, Beau Geste, is participating in the Auckland to Noumea yacht race.

Beau Geste   Tim Wright /Photoaction.com ©

The skipper of the yacht contacted RCCNZ at 7pm and advised the yacht had suffered damage to its decking and hull and was continuing to deteriorate.

RCCNZ issued a request for assistance from nearby vessels and the cargo ship Winchester Strait has responded and is making its way to the stricken yacht – the captain of the ship estimates they are approximately six hours away.

RCCNZ search and rescue mission coordinator John Dickson said Beau Geste had an experienced crew of racers and that remaining on board the damaged yacht while help arrived was the best course of action at this point.

Today Richard Gladwell profiles Neville Croaky Crichton who has just been awarded a NZ honours, made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to business and yachting. There in 1978, aged 29, he was diagnosed with throat cancer, eventually had his voice-box and oesophagus removed.

He was told that it would be unlikely he could ever speak again, but surgery resulted in him being fitted with an artificial voice box, which enable him to speak by manually pumping air into the device. His new husky voice earned him the name 'Croaky' which has remained with him all his life.

Lots more today, read on and enjoy..

Noumea Race - Day 3: Beau Geste withdraws - Update @2300hrs Richard Gladwell, 2200hrs: The 80ft Farr design Beau Geste has withdrawn from the Evolution Sails Sail Noumea 2012 race with structural damage, which is later reported as continuing to deteriorate. A ship has been diverted to stand by. Beau Geste is heading for Norfolk Island and is expected to arrive in the morning.... [more] Share this story

London 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition - Australian team finalised Craig Heydon, London 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition - Australia will head out onto the seas of Weymouth with a star studded team determined to become Australia's most successful sailing Olympians in history when competition kicks off at the 2012 Olympic Games.... [more] Share this story

CYCA's Audi Winter Series Race 6 images by Beth Morley Beth Morley images, Beth Morley www.sportsailingphotography.com took these images at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia's Audi Winter Series Race 6.... [more] Share this story

Sydney Amateurs classics head south for Hobart Wooden Boat Festival David Salter, It began as a casual dockside conversation late last year between two Sydney Amateur Sailing Club skippers. Lahara was built by the legendary Jock Muir at Battery Point, and has raced to Hobart five times. The famous Alan Payne-designed Maris was built in Hobart by Jock Muir in 1958.... [more] Share this story

Chicago Match Race Center June Grade 2 Invitational - Canfield victory CMCR, Another challenging day with extremely shifty conditions at Chicago's world famous Navy Pier for teams at the Chicago Match Race Center's June Grade 2 Invitational presented by Eurex.... [more] Share this story

Neville 'Croaky' Crichton receives New Zealand Honour Richard Gladwell, Champion yachtsman and businessman, Neville Crichton (67) has been made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to business and yachting. As well as being a top sailor and winner of the New Zealand Sailor of the Year, Crichton's business interests extend into the superyacht and automotive industries.... [more] Share this story

Clipper Round the World Race - A salute to Queen's Diamond Jubilee Isabel Hokken, In the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, 10 British registered 68 foot yachts formed up into a spectacular ‘Parade of Sail' in New York with the lead boats flying huge Great Britain spinnaker sails in a salute to Her Majesty The Queen's Diamond Jubilee.... [more] Share this story

RC44 Austria Cup - Change of season on final day + Video Jo Grindley, On the closing day of the RC44 Austria Cup, there was a complete change of season on Lake Traunsee, the intermittent rain and unseasonal cold giving way to sunshine. But this came at the expense of wind. After a long wait, finally a sea breeze filled in from the north (opposite of the last two days), allowing the RC44s to rally on the start line for a gun at 1500 (local)... [more] Share this story

Sail Noumea: Slow start but multihull record under threat Suellen Hurling, The first two nights have been long and slow on board all 17 yachts racing in the 995 nautical mile Evolution Sails Sail Noumea race with most of the fleet literally parked off the Northland Coast of New Zealand. At one point, Chris Hornell's TP52 Kia Kaha was seen to be going backwards as the race track completely glassed out.... [more] Share this story

Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta - Team GBR prepared Lindsey Bell, Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta - The 2012 Olympic and Paralympic sailing venue will get a final run through its paces this week, as over 700 of the world's top sailors prepare to race. The event – the penultimate leg of the ISAF Sailing World Cup series – will see 65 Skandia Team GBR sailors competing across the 10 Olympic and three Paralympic classes... [more] Share this story

Korea Match Cup 2012. Finals. Meet the Guv'nor Guy Nowell, Sail-World Asia, Current WMRT World Champion Ian Williams went into the finals after squashing Torvar Mirsky 3-0, and the reigning Korea Match Cup champ Bjorn Hansen was there after a 3-2 fight against Phil Robertson. The breeze was pumping 12ts+ and often quite a lot of ‘+', and the start line was just metres away from the end of the harbour mole at Jeonggok Marina. It was a grandstand made in heaven.... [more] Share this story

Global Ocean Race fleet sail through second gale Oliver Dewar, Global Ocean Race - As Tropical Storm Beryl prowls around the North Atlantic, the GOR fleet of double-handed Class40s has successfully sailed through the second gale in three days. Furthest south in fourth place, Nico and Frans Budel recorded gusts of up 35 knots on Sec. Hayai... [more] Share this story

WMRT Korea Match Cup - Bjorn Hansen fights off stiff competition Leigh Ireland, WMRT Korea Match Cup 2012, the second event of the Alpari World Match Racing Tour 2012 concluded in Gyeonggi, South Korea today, 3rd June. Defending Champion Bjorn Hansen (SWE) fought off stiff competition from reigning Tour title-holder Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar from Mekonomen Sailing Team to win.... [more] Share this story

Winter Series at Bellerive Yacht Club Peter Campbell, Winter Series 2012 at Bellerive Yacht Club got underway on the River Derwent yesterday, Saturday 2nd June. Long-time sailing secretary at Bellerive Yacht Club, Chris Sheehan, went sailing himself and scored a well-deserved win in the opening race of his club's winter series.... [more] Share this story

Audi Winter Series - Challenging conditions for Race 6 Jennifer Crooks, Audi Winter Series 2012 Race 6 - For the 116 competitors conditions today were in stark contrast from those experienced last week. From near perfect sailing conditions to rain, dark clouds and light breezes this week, competitors struggled to find the silver lining in today's conditions.... [more] Share this story

Sail for Gold Regatta - Aussie sailors prepare for Weymouth hit out Craig Heydon, Australia has had great success in Weymouth in recent years and a strong contingent have again made the trip to England with 27 crews competing in 12 classes.... [more] Share this story

Noumea Race: Slow progress as leaders exit NZ waters - updated at 1530 Richard Gladwell, The 17 strong fleet in the Evolution Sails Sail Noumea 2012, have made slow progress overnight. Currently the fleet is spread from the Hen and Chickens off Whangarei to north of Cape Reinga. At 0830hrs, Simon Hull's ORMA60 trimaran, TeamVodafoneSailing leads Beau Geste (Karl Kwok) by 7 miles with the boats being recorded as sailing at 7-8kts.... [more] Share this story

Volvo Ocean Race: Closest ever race develops into a four way battle Volvo Ocean Race, Two legs, 2,500 miles and three inshore sprints will decide the closest ever Volvo Ocean Race – and with four boats in with a shot of winning, points have never been more crucial. Never in the 39-year history of the Volvo Ocean Race have four boats been in with a realistic chance of winning with just around 10 days of offshore sailing left to go.... [more] Share this story

Australian Team arrives at 2012 IODA Asian Championships in Sri Lanka Tracey Walters, The Australian Optimist team has arrived in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka to compete in the 2012 Asian Championships, 2-10 June. The team met up after arriving in the capital city of Colombo at midnight local time and travelled by minibus the 250km and 8 hour drive across to the North East Coast of Sri Lanka to the Chaaya Blu Resort in Trincomalee on eightthe Bay of Bengal.... [more] Share this story

Three Australian teams chosen for 46th Governor's Cup Nancy Mellon, Ashlen Rooklyn from Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, Sam Gilmour of Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club and Jordan Reece from Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron Estate Master Sailing Team will lead their teams at Balboa Yacht Club's 46th annual Governor's Cup International Junior Match Racing Championship... [more] Share this story

Samui Regatta 2012- Tight at the top with one day to go Samui Regatta Media, Light winds as the boats left the anchorage today looked ominous but the Race Committee headed north to the channel between Samui and Phangan islands and found a steady breeze to get the races underway. AP down at 10:44, IRC Zero into start sequence, and they were off!... [more] Share this story

Volvo Ocean Race – Puma cross Leg 7 finish in third Lisa Ramsperger, Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 team Puma Ocean Racing powered by Berg returned to the podium with a third-place finish into Lisbon, Portugal, early Friday morning to complete Leg 7. The Puma crew made the more than 3,500 nautical mile transatlantic crossing from Miami, Florida, to Lisbon in 11 days, six hours, 26 minutes and 51 seconds.... [more] Share this story

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