Of Volvo, Wharro, Match racing, 18 footers and more

by Rob Kothe and the Sail-World Team on 15 Oct 2014 On Monday we gave you Volvo Ocean race news exclusively but yes we know there is more. Our VOR newsletters go to 125,000 readers, but ahead there are some other important sailing events. The Rolex Sydney to Hobart is upcoming and we will be switching our attention there. (BTW don't be surprised to see the VOR65's in the 2016 S2H) But we will start with some thoughtful VOR analysis.

Volvo Ocean Race, Leg 1 - the umpteenth leader - Team Alvimedica protects the west

Sail-World has been covering the Volvo Ocean race intensively, but now the first leg has settled down, Richard Gladwell will produce a careful analysis of the real positions on the water and we will bring you a consolidated report from the teams, because it’s actually not the only thing happening on the water...

Today Richard writes - Team Alvimedica has taken the lead in the Volvo Ocean Race as the fleet closes in on the African coast.

The Turkish flagged, American crewed entry Team Alvimedica has taken over the lead from Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing as of the 0940hrs UTC report and continued to be shown as the race leader at the 1850hrs UTC report.

At 0940hrs UTC Alvimedica was also the westernmost boat in the fleet, and had the 'west is best' option covered. That situation remained the case at 0940hrs UTC and Team Alvimedica was handily placed on a number of counts, relative to the rest of the fleet. Read Richard's full analysis below.

You know summer is 'acoming when the 18 footers hit the Harbour, when the Australian 18 Footers League staged the R. Watt Memorial Trophy 3-Buoys race as the opening event of its 2014-2015 Season. The Thurlow Fisher Lawyers crew of Michael Coxon, Dave O’Connor and Trent Barnabas were superb to lead for most of the race before finally crossing the finish line 12s ahead of the nearest challenger.

Sad to see Wharro all over the Tele' (Daily Telegrah NSW). As most of you know property developer and bloody good sailor and bloke Grant Wharrington was dragged into bankruptcy in 2011 and his Wild Thing has been less than wild since then. We bring you the latest, but we hope Wharro is not sailing into the sunset.

Katie Spithill has just come back from maternity leave to lead the Busan Cup Women’s International Match Race, difficult sea state and shifting winds remained to challenge the sailors, but Australian Katie Spithill managed to come out of the day with six wins and only one loss, finishing her round-robin with a 9 – 2 total that takes her to the top of the score board. We await more news.

Mow on the Luderitz Speed challenge in Namibia, the ISAF Sailing World Cup, in the 2008 Olympic sailing centre Qingdao China.

After those storms last night, hope the weekend is fine and windy!!