A-Cat Worlds, J/22s, Hobie 16s—Sailing news from the U.S. and beyond

by David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor on 17 Feb 2014 After a long and action-packed week of racing, Glen Ashby (AUS) has won his eighth A-Class Catamaran World Championship, which just wrapped up in Auckland, New Zealand. According to reports, Ashby took the top step of the podium, followed by Blair Tuke and Peter Burling, two young Kiwis who clinched second and third place, respectively. Impressively, all three sailors wear Emirates Team New Zealand colors, making this regatta a 1-2-3 sweep for the Kiwis.

While Ashby was dominant all week, plenty of sailors experienced equipment frustrations as the high-strung boats met breezy conditions and talent-packed racecourses. As for the broken rudder assemblies that the sailors have been contending with, Ashby made it clear that the sailors have been pushing their boats to new levels.

'Downwind, when the boats [are] clearing the water, when you’re steering reasonably aggressively to keep the boat in control and flying, basically the hull is not taking any of the side load like it used to, so [the load is] all going through the bottom rudder gudgeon,' said Ashby. 'The load has increased probably fifty to seventy percent compared to what there used to be, so we’re finding that we’re busting things that previously have never broken.'

Get the full scoop on the A-Cat Worlds, including the vignette about the thousands of Carey's Chickens Petrels sea birds that flocked to the course earlier this weekend, inside this issue, and stay tuned for more post-regatta debriefings, as they become available.

Speaking of fast catamarans, the Hobie 16 Worlds just wrapped up in Jervis Bay, New South Wales, Australia. After a long week of racing that tested teams in all conditions, from the strong stuff to the mere zephyrs, Australians Gavin Colby and Josie Mark emerged in first place, followed by fellow Aussies Cam Owen and Suzzi Ghent in second place and Italians Jerome Le Gal and Marco Iazzetta in third place. Get the full scoop, inside this issue.

Meanwhile, the RC44 class has been enjoying great conditions at the RC44 Virgin Gorda Cup 2014, which concludes today. As of the time of this writing, 'Peninsula Petroleum Sailing Team' were sitting in first place, followed by 'Team Aqua' and 'Synergy Russian Sailing Team'. According to reports, the event has been enjoying primo Caribbean midwinter weather, with flat waters and trade wind sailing conditions.

And while many of these teams and sailors are longtime players on the RC44 circuit, there are also new faces in big places in this event. Take, for example, 'Katusha’s' new helmsman, Vladimir Sokolov, who is enjoying mid-fleet results despite being a newcomer to sailing. 'Vladimir is doing a great job; he drives racecars and plays tennis so he’s a good sportsman,' said Andy Horton, the team’s tactician. 'As we come into corners we have little tricks like, Iain (Jensen) our trimmer will point where to go whilst I count down, but it’s been pretty cool because you have to rethink all of the things that we take for granted as sailors.'

Get the full RC44 report, inside, and be sure to stay in touch with the website as final results from the RC44 Virgin Gorda Cup 2014 become known.

Stateside, New Orleans is putting on a great show for the sailors who have gathered to race in the 2014 J/22 Midwinters, which are taking place in the Big Easy this weekend. According to reports, hometown Benz Faget’s 'Fats' is currently sitting in the pole position, followed by Chris Doyle’s 'The Jug 4 1' and Terry Flynn’s 'Tejas'. Racing wraps up today, so be sure stay tuned for more J/22 news, as it breaks.

Also inside, get the latest news from the 2015 United States Pan American Games Team, which will represent the US at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto; check in with the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, and don’t miss the latest updates from the RORC’s Caribbean 600, which starts tomorrow off of Fort Charlotte, Antigua.

May the four winds blow you safely home,