Southampton, Bart's Bash, Clipper Round the World Race

by . on 24 Sep 2015 A big 10 days at the Southampton Boat Show, the mood was upbeat from visitors and exhibitors.

An amazing Bart's Bash last weekend, a great event world-wide, 62 countries, 469 venues and the picture of blonde headed young Freddie Simpson with Iain Percy and Anthony Nossiter in Weymouth was memorable.

Régates Royales - Trophée Panerai – with heavy wind blasts on Bay of Cannes - Wednesdays strong winds forced the organizers to abandon racing, leaving them no choice but keep the boats safely moored in the Vieux Port of Cannes.

80 boats plus are gathered in Cannes and the mix of competition and elegance is what makes the Régates Royales unique. Sailors come here to have fun and to sail with friends on beautiful boats. The race area is stunning, with exiting racing and a very special atmosphere ashore.

Since the inception of the Régates Royales de Cannes, owners have always called up professional sailors. Once they were fishermen or seafaring shipmates, today they're Olympic athletes, America's Cup, IRC or one-design pro sailors. Thursday they will all join a tribute to much-missed female offshore legend Florence Arthaud.

Clipper Round the World Yacht Race - Closing on Rio - Week four of the Clipper Race sees leader LMAX Exchange less than 500 nautical miles from the finish at Guanabara Bay, where the Olympic Sailing Competition will take place.

After more than 5000 nautical miles it looks like the last 500 will be a close fought battle for the top teams in this first race of fourteen in the global series. LMAX Exchange has a convincing lead, almost 300 nautical miles ahead of the other front runners, being led by Chinese entry Qingdao, but it is expected that the gap will be closed getting closer to Rio.

The past week has seen the leading boats cross the Equator and perform the maritime tradition of the Equator crossing ceremony where the crew pay tribute to King Neptune to ensure a quick and safe passage.

Snipe World Championship 2015 – The last days have been challenging for the sailors with heavy duty sailing and good seamanship were called for on day three of racing. For safety reasons, race six yesterday was abandoned when a gale swept through the Bay with winds on the race course reaching 26-30 knots.

83 crews from 18 nations are this week having a tough fight for the podium places in Talamone Tuscany, Italy organized by Circolo della Vela Talamone. The races have until now been dominated by crews from Argentina, Brazil, US and Japan, but European crews from Belgium, Italy and Spain are also fighting for top 10 places. Five races have been sailed and the race committee will attempt to complete 11 races, with no more than three races per day. The championship will find a winner on Saturday.

Good Sailing
Dan Ibsen
Sail-World UK Editor