Olympic sailing, VOR, BWR update—Sailing news from the U.S. and beyond

by David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor on 19 Mar 2015 The big news in sailing this week comes courtesy of US Sailing, which recently announced its brand-new, fully revamped Olympic Development Program (ODP), which is aimed at putting American sailors back on Olympic podiums. According to reports, inside, US Sailing's ODP was made possible thanks to a $5M donation from the AmericaOne Foundation and will serve as a development pipeline for talented junior sailors.

There are several main pillars of the ODP, starting with the High-Performance Outreach (think talent scouts) and progressing to World-Class Training Camps, before moving on to Travel Teams and the Youth Worlds Team. Combined, the ODP represents a powerful new development program that will hopefully yield far stronger results than the American-flagged team realized at the London 2012 Olympics.

'With the help of AmericaOne and other generous donors, we are excited to launch a completely revamped Olympic Development Program here in the U.S., and provide significantly improved training to youth athletes looking to increase their high-performance skills,' said Josh Adams, Managing Director of US Olympic Sailing. 'Through the ODP, we will give dedicated youth athletes in the US a level of support that was previously unattainable. The ODP will strive to establish a culture of excellence with the highest standards while serving as the top level of youth training in the US.'

Get the full report on US Sailing’s new ODP, inside this issue.

Meanwhile, from the antipodes comes news that the Volvo Ocean Race was finally able to get underway in light airs Wednesday after a three-day postponement to allow Cyclone Pam to pass clear of the racetrack and allow the teams to start their grueling Southern Ocean leg, which will take crews from Auckland, New Zealand, to Itajaí, Brazil, in a 'relatively' moderate conditions.

At the time of this writing, 'MAPFRE' was leading the chase by roughly two nautical miles, followed by 'Team Alvimedica' and 'Team Brunel', but with well over 6,300 nautical miles to go until Itajaí, this leg is obviously anyone’s game. And with Cape Horn lurking somewhere over the far, far horizon, the one thing that all sailors can bank on for the next 22-24 days is some of the most grueling-and most rewarding-sailing imaginable.

'I’m about to sail into the toughest ocean in the world with two crew members who have never sailed in more than 30 knots of wind–and only three of the crew have passed Cape Horn before,' said Charles Caudrelier, skipper of 'Dongfeng Race Team'. 'It’s added pressure and the Southern Ocean isn’t something you can explain to someone with words and hand gestures. I’m not sure they know what lies ahead and maybe it’s better that way? I trust them and they know the boat but like any Skipper I will constantly be alert. It will be difficult to relax.'

While each team approaches the Southern Ocean leg differently based on their experience and their team chemistry, it’s fair to say that all skippers are a bit 'focused' at the moment. 'This will be my eighth stab at the Southern Ocean,' says Bouwe Bekking, skipper of 'Team Brunel'. 'These are great waters to sail, although the weather can be pretty extreme, with severe cold, strong winds and very high seas… Another hazard is the ice–large packs of ice floating just beneath the surface… The best we can do is keep our eyes open and closely monitor water temperatures. A sharp, sudden drop in temperature is a definitive ice alert.'

Be sure to get the full VOR report, including video footage from the start of Leg 5, inside.

Meanwhile, in the double-handed Barcelona World Race (BWR), all skippers have now rounded Cape Horn and are making tracks for the finishing line, with Bernard Stamm and Jean Le Cam, sailing aboard first-placed 'Cheminees Poujoulat', expected to finish racing in roughly one week. At the time of this writing, Stamm and Le Cam had some 1,605 miles separating their bow from the finishing line, while second-placed Guillermo Alatadill and José Munoz, sailing aboard 'Neutrogena' still had 2,512 miles to go, and third-placed Anna Corbella and Gerard Marin, sailing aboard 'GAES Centros Auditivos', were still looking at some 2,617 remaining miles.

'We are happy because we are closer to home,' said Corbella. 'We are sailing upwind with the trade winds, so we only have to wait for the days to pass and then we will be at home. We are happy at the moment.'

Happiness aside, Corbella was sober-minded about her chances of passing 'Neutrogena'. 'We don't have a lot of chances to catch 'Neutrogena' at the moment because we are sailing upwind,' said Corbella. 'The speeds of the boats are similar and the only difference is we are a little bit more in the east. So maybe we can gain something for that. At the moment we don't see a lot of options. Probably we will get a little bit closer to them and then in the Mediterranean we will try to catch them.' More from the BWR, inside this issue.

Also inside, get the latest news from the Vic-Maui Race, the Los Angeles Yacht Club’s Port of Los Angeles Harbor Cup, and the Swan Cup Caribbean 2015.

And finally, don’t miss the image gallery and report-courtesy of the Azzurra Sailing Team-of their latest TP52, 'Azzurra', which was designed by Marcelino Botin. Enjoy!

May the four winds blow you safely home,