Missing UK sailors search abandoned, America's Cup, VOR and more...

by Dan Ibsen, Sail-World UK editor on 20 May 2014 The Beneteau First 40.7 Cheeki Rafiki, with four British sailors onboard, set off its EPIRB on a delivery passage from Antigua to Europe, after earlier reporting she was taking on water. It is believed the yacht may have been sinking rapidly and the crew took to the life raft. It has been reported that two consecutive signals were picked up from personal beacons indicating that they had made it to the life raft.

US and Canadian aircraft looked for them on Friday and Saturday but have now called off the search. A short U.S. Coast Guard search ensued but was called off. But why has the search for four British sailors been called off after only 48 hours?

As history has told time and time again, survivors can last many days and weeks - even months - in a life raft at sea, yet the US Coastguard inexplicably called off the search very soon after a merchant ship found what appeared to be the wreckage of the yacht Cheeki Rafiki. And why did the merchant ship not stop at the wreckage and wait until the hull had been investigated.

The Australian Navy sailed more than 1300 nautical miles to investigate the upturned hull of Tony Bullimore's boat and found him alive in the Southern Ocean. Why cannot a boat be sent to check on the Cheeki Rafiki?

There are many unanswered questions, and an online petition has been launched to persuade the US Coastguard to resume the search. See our lead story below to sign the online petition.

In Olympic sailing news, Brazil has made international headlines with their announcement that the 2016 Olympic Games Brazil will not be able to fulfill its promises of clean water for the sailing and rowing portions of the Games. According to reports, Guanabara Bay - where these events are set to take place - is currently sewage- and garbage-choked, with 800,000 tons of effluent running into the river system that feeds the Bay each day.

'Even if the necessary resources to implement sanitation systems in the waterways mentioned were released, it would not be possible to plan and implement all the projects within a timeframe that would make a significant difference in the water quality in Guanabara Bay by the 2016 Olympics,' wrote Carlos Francisco Portinho, Rio's state environment secretary, in a letter to Aldo Rebelo, Sports Minister, which was obtained by The Associated Press.

Get the full report on Brazil's massive water-quality problem, inside this issue, and stay tuned to the website for more news about the 2016 Olympic Games Brazil, as it becomes known.

In America's Cup news, the long silence continues as the Protocol, the design rule, and news of the venue have still not been released, despite early estimates that these documents would be made public in March. Inside this issue, Sail-World.com's America's Cup editor, Richard Gladwell, takes a hard look at the current Cup situation and ponders if the 35th America's Cup has lost its direction.

'Certainly there does not seem to be any hurry to get a Protocol out, or Venue named for the event,' writes Gladwell. 'Already eight months have passed. The Protocol for the 34th America's Cup was announced seven months after the conclusion of the 33rd Match-and that came off the back of a two and a half year Court case and the accompanying acrimony, which all but destroyed the event.'

Get Gladwell's full America's Cup report, inside this issue, and stay tuned for more Cup-related news, as it becomes known.

2014 52 Super Series, Rolex Capri Sailing Week is under way with practice race won by Niklas Zennström, Sweden in the Barclays 52 Super Series. They also won the practice race in the US 52 Super Series earlier this year, but finished fifth in the series. The practice race, contested under a regime of rain clouds and some light spots of drizzle, underlined that Capri will be a difficult venue which will yield predominantly light winds.

Any one of the nine boats at Capri could win this season opener and there is no A and B fleet now any more. Everybody is capable of winning races, everybody is capable of winning regattas. Quantum Racing won the US 52 Super Series and would be capable of winning at Capri as s they are a are a very consistent boat. But everyone can win at Capri, as everybody is capable of winning races. Follow the event during this week.

Five Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 boats have already covered nearly 30,000 nautical miles in their pre-event preparations giving both teams and event organisers the opportunity to test equipment and crews on land and sea. The training runs have visited seven ports in the United States, China, Portugal, Spain (Lanzarote) and the United Kingdom so far ahead of the race start in October this year.

The 12th edition of the Volvo Ocean Race will start from Alicante, Spain on October 4, 2014 with the in-port race there. The teams will cover 38,739 nautical miles before the finish and a final in-port race in Gothenburg, Sweden on June 27, 2015.

Also inside, get the latest news from the inaugural Menorca Maxi starting this week, the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, the Formula Kite Youth and Masters World Championships and other European events.

Good Sailing !