Volvo, Rio, Bris-Gladstone, Australian sailors recognised, Barcelona

by Rob Kothe and the Sail-World team on 26 Feb 2015 In Denmark there are some whispers that Team Vestas might be ready ahead of the expected Lisbon schedule, if that is true it will certainly be a good news story for the final legs of the Volvo Ocean Race 2015.

Right now Leg 4 into Auckland is a race of three. Charles Caudrelier’s Dongfeng has sailed to the front of the fleet, swapping the lead a number of times with Ian Walker's Abu Dhabi, with the two boats sticking closely together. Then there is a gap back to Mapfre, it looks like these will be the podium players with Alvimedica, Brunel and SCA off the pace.

Aquece Rio International Sailing Regatta – the second of two Rio 2016 Olympic Test Events with the first being held in 2014. Rio will welcome sailors once again from 13-22 August 2015 with racing taking place inside and outside of Guanabara Bay.

Looking ahead, the Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition will take place at the Marina da Glória, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 8-18 August 2016 and will feature 380 athletes competing across ten events.

Four new Australian Sailing Team members - Matthew Wearn (WA), David Gilmour (WA), Rhys Mara (VIC) and Joel Turner (QLD) were officially welcomed on to the Australian Sailing Team at a team dinner at Middle Harbour Yacht Club this week.

Lasers Masters world champion and Olympic sailing coach Brett Beyer was named Masters Athlete of the Year at the 2014 NSW Sports Awards in a ceremony recognising elite sports stars at Curzon House in Marsfield. Last July, a freelance Olympic Laser sailing coach won eight out of the nine races at the Laser Masters World Championship in Hyeres, France, overcoming an international fleet of 116 in the Standard Masters class.

2014 -2015 Barcelona World Race - Cheminées Poujoulat, which has lead the two handed round the world race for 39 days, has passed Cape Horn. The lead boat has covered the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, the Indian and the Pacific in 55 days and 13 hours. In so doing Stamm and Le Cam have covered 16,400 nautical miles of the theoretical course (23,300nm) and so they have 6,900 more left to finish the race.

The second and third boats, Guillermo Altadill and José Muñoz on Neutrogena and Anna Corbella and Gerard Marin on GAES Centros Auditivos, are expected to round Cape Horn between Friday and Saturday.

Australia’s historic ocean race, the 308 nautical mile QantasLink Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race will set sail for the 67th time on Good Friday. This offshore race is the biggest Easter weekend sporting event in Queensland.

For the first time in the Brisbane to Gladstone, a Short Handed category is being offered and a new look Cruising and Classic Category has been introduced.

On a personal note, every Brisbane to Gladstone, I lift a beer for Ian ‘Stripey’ Grant. Stripey and his Bride Marie were inextricably linked with the Gladstone race. Onya mate.