Go East and West!—Sailing News from the U.S. and Beyond

by David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor on 6 Jul 2011 While the old cliché about westward expansion stands, right now there’s excellent reason to head both east and west as fast as possible. The reasons, of course, are the Transatlantic Race 2011 and the Transpac 2011.

On the eastern front, all boats have now started sailing (the race is sailed pursuit-style and features a series of staggered starts) and are enjoying fast conditions. 'Great sailing, so far, aboard Rambler 100, reported navigator Peter Isler. 'By our calculations we did a 464-mile 24-hour run from the start. That's a 19.3 knot average! Great sailing for sure. We've had basically the same sail combination up since turning the corner at Nantucket Shoals.' And on the western front, the first boats to start sailing Transpac 2011 left the mainland this week, bound for the Aloha State, with the rest of the fleet to start racing soon. Be sure to check out our reports in this issue on both of these classic ocean-racing contests, and check the site for updates, as they become available.

Meanwhile, the Extreme Sailing Series 2011 Act 4, which was held in Boston over the long weekend, saved its biggest surprise for the final race of the series, where Emirates Team New Zealand usurped Artemis Racing’s lead to take home the top hardware. 'At the final leeward gate Emirates Team New Zealand didn't have enough boats between them and us to win the event,' reports Morgan Trubovich, a trimmer aboard Artemis Racing. 'But a big puff came out of the left hand side on the final beat (to the finish) and four boats sailed past us to dash our hopes of winning.' Check out the full coverage, in this issue.

In Volvo Ocean Race circles, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing has unveiled their new VO70, which they will use in the upcoming VOR, which kicks off this October from Alicante, Spain. The new yacht sports a falcon on its shinny black hull; interestingly, it is the only Farr-designed VO70 in this year’s contest. Photos inside.

Match racers: the Oakcliff Sailing Center has announced a new match-racing event, the Oakcliff International 2011. This new regatta, which will be held from July 28-31, is part of the bigger Grand Slam match-race series. 'The entire [Grand Slam] series has stimulated the growth of match racing and helped continue our goal to elevate the level of sailing in the U.S. and the world,' reports Dawn Riley, Oakcliff Sailing’s Executive Director. 'We’re thrilled to be hosting the culmination of this competitive and exciting series.'