Telefonica Blue seeks redress for incident in Qingdao

[Source: Volvo Ocean Race] On Sunday night, Telefonica Blue submitted a request for redress, claiming their finishing position in Leg 5 was adversely affected through no fault of their own.

From the claim to the Jury: "...The Race Committee and/or Organising Authority made an improper action or omission by locating the start line and 2nd passing mark of the course (mark d) in an area where at least 1 uncharted shallow area existed.

Related PDF Document

Telefonica Blue's Request for Redress

"Telefonica Azul (Blue) hit one such uncharted shallows that was 0.23 nm from the start mark (and 2nd passing mark) of the course, prior to the start of Leg 5."

The team goes on to claim that the port in Qingdao didn't have adequate depth "to allow Telefonica Azul back into the harbour," resulting in a delay before they could begin repairs.

The request for redress states all of this had a direct impact on their position at the New Zealand scoring gate and at the finish of the leg.

The International Jury arrives in Rio de Janeiro later this week. A hearing will be scheduled where the Jury will determine what - if any - redress the Telefonica Blue team is entitled to receive.

Shore Crew look at the damge to Telefonica Blue's keel in Qingdao after hitting an uncharted rock outside Qingdao Harbour prior to the start of leg 5. Qingdao, 14 February 2009. Photo copyright Rick Tomlinson/Volvo Ocean Race

Yacht Racing Design & Technology Symposium added to World Yacht Racing Forum

Informa Yacht Group, organisers of the World Yacht Racing Forum have announced the addition of the Yacht Racing Design & Technology Symposium to run parallel to this year’s Forum, 9-10 December at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. Over 300 delegates and 65 media attended the inaugural World Yacht Racing Forum last December, co-located with the 4th edition of the popular Motorsport Business Forum.

The two day symposium will bring together the world’s leading yacht racing designers, naval architects and technology experts to meet and discuss some of the latest developments and issues in yacht racing design and technology. The schedule will include topics such as composite technology, canting keel and rudder technology, hydrodynamics, rig technology, advances in coating techniques and sail design. The symposium will also address the environmental implications on today’s yacht racing designers and builders. The full schedule will be announced in due course.

As well as industry experts and Production Directors from yacht builders, the symposium is also open for racing yacht owners to participate and meet and network with design professionals to discuss their own yachts or projects. The symposium will share joint access with the World Yacht Racing Forum lounge and exhibition area, as Event Director James Pleasance explains;

“The commercial and design/technical world of yacht racing are intrinsically linked as many of today’s biggest yachting events are driven by the design and technology of the yachts competing in them; the America’s Cup, Volvo Ocean Race, Vendee Globe, Farr 40 class, Swan 45 regattas, and so on. Joining these two conferences together is the ideal opportunity for both sides of the sport to share ideas and forge new relationships. ”

Participants from both conferences will also gain free access to the Motorsport Business Forum and the Track & Ocean cocktail reception where they will have the opportunity to meet fellow business and design professionals from the world of motorsport. Top yacht designer Juan Kouyoumdjian attended the inaugural Forum last year;

“It is a great idea to add a symposium for the professionals involved in yacht design technology. It will allow us to meet in a pleasant environment, and to share our views on the future. It will also be interesting for teams, or yacht owners, to meet us and compare our ideas and discuss new trends and innovations.”

For more information on the Yacht Racing Design & Technology Symposium and details of how to register, visit www.yrdts.com.

Meanwhile in Valencia... Team Container concludes fruitful training

Note: A small error slipped through earlier in the report. Marcus Wieser is the helmsman of the yacht while Karol Jablonski is calling tactics. Our apologies.

It was supposed be an exceptional photo and video opportunity for Valencia Sailing but unfortunately it turned out to be 20-minute ride from the Luna Rossa base to the end of the canal and back. Team Container's crew was scheduled to carry out their last training session in Valencia, in view of the busy season ahead, but the weather didn't allow it.

There was simply no breeze and the forecast was not encouraging at all. After delaying the dockout for more than an hour, the STP65 yacht was motored out of the canal but then became evident it made no sense to venture any further. Adding to that the huge swell, the crew decided to return to the Luna Rossa base. We will have to wait for another opportunity in order to shoot photos of Marcus Wieser on the helm of the German yacht.

Still, the overall results achieved by the team are very satisfactory. March being in general a tricky month to sail in Valencia, just 2 of the 15 days the team spent here were lost. The first one due to excessive winds (the day following Luna Rossa's incident) and the second one on Sunday.

Team Container's STP65 yacht will now go to Palma for the opening regatta of the International Maxi Association 2009 season, starting in two weeks. Racing in the Mini Maxi division she will face, among others, Luna Rossa's STP65 and the brand new 72-ft RAN II, owned by Skype's founder Niklas Zennstrom.

Team Container's STP65 last day of training was extremely short!!!! Valencia, 29 March 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Team Container's STP65 docked in the Luna Rossa base. Valencia, 29 March 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Team Container's STP65 docked in the Luna Rossa base. Valencia, 29 March 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Videos: Banque Populaire V sailing night and day

Fro those that can't get enough of multihull sailing, we have another two interesting videos with raw footage from Banque Populaire's training session last week off the Spanish port of Cadix. The French boat is still waiting for the right conditions in order to embark on a new attempt to break the trans-atlantic record from Cadix to San Salvador.

Sailing during the day

Banque Populaire V trimaran sails during the day. Cadix, March 2009. Video copyright Banque Populaire

Sailing during the night

Banque Populaire V trimaran sails during the night. Cadix, March 2009. Video copyright Banque Populaire

Fifth place for Telefonica Blue in leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race

[Source: Volvo Ocean Race] At 03:55 GMT, in the early hours (00:55 local time) of a rainy Sunday morning, Telefónica Blue eased across the finish line off the Marina da Gloria in Rio de Janeiro to take fifth place in leg five of the Volvo Ocean Race.

The elapsed time for leg five for Telefónica Blue was a daunting 42 days, 22 hours and 55 minutes.

Related audio

Telefonica Blue skipper Bouwe Bekking on reaching Rio with a broken forestay

This wasn’t the way it was supposed to be for skipper Bouwe Bekking/NED and his team. Following two consecutive leg wins, Tom Addis was promoted from strategist to navigator. And after changing to larger rudders for this leg, the Telefónica Blue squad had high hopes of closing the gap with the front-running Ericsson 4.

But before the race had started, the team ran aground on a submerged rock outside the harbour in Qingdao. Skipper Bekking quickly made the decision not to take the start and instead Telefónica Blue returned to the Olympic harbour in Qingdao where the boat was hauled out for the damage to be assessed.

In the event, there was no structurally significant damage and the team resumed racing just shy of 19 hours after the start of the leg. From then onwards, the Telefónica Blue was on the back foot.

Telefonica Blue sails towards the finish line of leg 5. Rio de Janiero, 29 March 2009. Photo copyright Dave Kneale / Volvo Ocean Race

They fought hard to get back into the mix with the rest of the fleet, but 20 days into the leg, a broken forestay forced the team to make heroic efforts to save the mast from tumbling down, but at that point, their competitive hopes in leg five were all but extinguished as the team was restricted to using smaller headsails.

A late charge on the final section of the race course brought the team within hours of fourth-placed Green Dragon, but to no avail – four points, from a fifth place finish drops the team to third place on the overall leaderboard behind Ericsson 4 and PUMA.

“I think we have a really good chance actually,” Bekking said when asked about the impact of this leg on the overall leaderboard. “I think Ericsson 4 will be scratching their heads a little bit because they haven’t been winning the last three legs. They are definitely beatable I think.”

Leg Five Finishing Order – Rio de Janeiro
1. Ericsson 3: 8 points
2. Ericsson 4: 7 points
3. PUMA: 6 points
4. Green Dragon: 5 points
5. Telefonica Blue: 4 points

Overall Leaderboard (Provisional)
1. Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) 63.5 points (FINISHED)
2. PUMA (Ken Read/USA) 53 points (FINISHED)
3. Telefónica Blue (Bouwe Bekking/NED) 50.5 points (FINISHED)
4. Ericsson 3 (Magnus Olsson/SWE) 43.5 (FINISHED)
5. Green Dragon (Ian Walker/GBR) 39.5 (FINISHED)
6. Telefónica Black 21 (DNS)
7. Delta Lloyd 12 (DNS)
8. Team Russia 10.5 (DNS)

Green Dragon finishes 4th in leg 5 of Volvo Ocean Race

[Source: Volvo Ocean Race] Green Dragon skipper Ian Walker/GBR led his hungry crew over the finish line outside the Marina da Gloria, in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday afternoon to claim fourth place in Leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race.

Crossing the finish line at 18:59 GMT (15:59 local time) the Irish/Chinese team finished the longest leg in the history of the race with an elapsed time of 42 days 13 hours and 59 minutes.

It’s been a long leg for the Green Dragon crew, made all the more difficult by the team running low on both food and fuel during the final week. In fact, the team had to re-fuel before it could bring the boat into the marina.

“It’s been a hard 10 days – these last 10 days,” Walker said once his boat was safely dockside. “We just had to stick at it. It feels like quite an achievement to sail 12,500 miles! Getting around Cape Horn was always something I wanted to do, but getting here and having a steak sandwich is the highlight right now.”

Green Dragon, skippered by Ian Walker (GBR) finish fourth into Rio de Janeiro on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race. Rio de Janeiro 28 March 2009. Photo copyright Dave Kneale/Volvo Ocean Race

Navigator Wouter Verbraak, who started the Volvo Ocean Race with Team Russia, is scheduled to join Delta Lloyd for Leg 6. But for the longest stage of the race, he has been with Green Dragon, replacing Ian Moore for the leg.

“It’s been a real leg of extremes. I thought I’d seen highs and lows on the other legs, but this is such a marathon,” he said. “You go from one dip to the next mountain. For us as a team it’s been really good to keep coming back until the very end.”

The fourth place finish means the team collects 5 points towards its total on the overall leaderboard. Green Dragon sits in fifth place, four points behind Leg 5 winner Ericsson 3.

Telefonica Blue is the only boat in the fleet still at sea. At the time of Green Dragon’s finish, Bouwe Bekking’s squad had 39 miles left to run, with a predicted ETA near midnight tonight.

Leg Five Finishing Order Rio
1. Ericsson 3: 8 points
2. Ericsson 4: 7 points
3. PUMA: 6 points
4. Green Dragon: 5 points

Green Dragon stalled 5 miles from finish line

[Source: Volvo Ocean Race] Green Dragon has stalled - no wind - about five miles from the finishing line. It's very hot and humid here in Rio, with big dark clouds building. Maybe a squall will provide the wind to get them in...

Skipper Ian Walker looks for the finish line. Rio de Janeiro, 28 March 2009. Photo copyright Dave Kneale / Volvo Ocean Race

Bruni, Berntsson lead multi-national Final Four at Con Cup Day 4

Sailing into the championship sailoffs of the Long Beach Yacht Club's 45th Congressional Cup Friday, Italy's Francesco Bruni figures he has earned some respect, and Sweden's Johnie Berntsson may be about due to win a Crimson Blazer.

Cheered on by unofficial flag-waving fan clubs on Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier, they joined Terry Hutchinson, the 1992 winner and week-long American frontrunner, and 2007 winner Mathieu Richard of France as part of a multi-national Final Four and immediately seized 1-0 leads in the best-of-three semifinals.

Following completion of the last three rounds of the double round-robin, Berntsson, the runnerup the previous two years, defeated Richard by 22 seconds as Bruni trounced Hutchinson by 55 seconds---which means that Hutchinson and Richard each need to win two straight Saturday to survive into the best-of-three finals in the afternoon.

The racers were finally blessed by a relatively steady 'normal' Long Beach southwest sea breeze topping at 12 knots, which favored the right side of the course through the later races.

Bruni arrived rated 76th in the ISAF rankings, which didn't reflect his status as the current Melges 24 world champion and skipper of Italy's fourth-place finisher in the recent Louis Vuitton Pacific Cup for America's Cup teams at Auckland. But since he filled the 10th and last slot in the lineup, he has been referred to instead as 'a late entry' (who wrote that?) more than a contender.

'I'm a little tired of that reputation,' the good-natured native of Palermo said at Friday night's skippers press conference. 'Of course, I'm not the favorite, but we are doing good starts and doing the right things. It's not like we never sailed before.'

Bruni showed a flair for improvising when he led Hutchinson behind the eastern wing of the pier---a rare tactic that worked when he timed the move to lead Hutchinson back out to the start line.

'We thought about it before the race,' Bruni said. 'The wind was very much [to the right] and we had the opportunity to get the lead.'

As for Berntsson, he showed boldness under pressure to recover from a 4-7 won-lost record in mid-week to win seven of his last eight races, pulling off the bold move of the day to beat Finland's Staffan Lindberg for the win that put him in the sailoffs.

Berntsson finished the round-robins tied with New Zealand's Adam Minoprio, the 23-year-old winner of this month's World Match Racing Tour opener at Marseille. Both had 10-8 records after Minoprio followed Thursday's 5-0 run with a 0-3 mark Friday and then lost the tiebreaker to Berntsson on the Swede's win against him in the second round.

'We knew we had to win all of our matches and see what happened,' said Berntsson, who won last year's Bermuda Gold Cup on the tour. 'We were lucky.'

And bold. Trailing downwind close to windward of Lindberg near the end of the first of two laps, Berntsson suddenly whipped his boat across the Finn's bow. Both protested but the on-water umpires ruled that Berntsson had the right of way and flagged Lindberg for a foul.

'We didn't break the overlap,' Berntsson said, 'but we were obliged for room to go for the mark. The only way he could [gain right of way] to take us outside the mark was to do a double jibe, so we waited. As soon as he did the [first] jibe, we jibed before he could do the second.'

Berntsson's pit man, Niklas Calzon, said the move wasn't typical of his skipper, noting that 'he always keeps pretty calm. Sometimes he gets too quiet, really.'

Neither a Swede nor an Italian has ever won the Congressional Cup.

'Yeah, I know that,' Berntsson said. 'They were telling me that the two times I was second.'

Bruni said, 'I don't want to think about it.'

Later, at the press conference, Richard, the only Frenchman to win, reminded Berntsson, 'The year we won we sailed against Johnie in the semifinals, and he won the first match.'

Touché, Berntsson smiled from down the table.

It's true that while Bruni, who has won seven races in a row, and Berntsson may be the hottest sailors, Hutchinson and Richard aren't slowing down. Hutchinson has won six of his last eight while Richard won his last 11 in the round-robins before falling to Berntsson.

Richard's loss to Berntsson was dealt at the a start when a sudden wind lull left him stuck behind the committee boat and 20 seconds behind when he was able to cross the line.

The Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier east of downtown Long Beach has bleacher seating within rooting distance of the action, free parking at the beach end and shuttle service starting, all free of charge.

Semi-Finals - Results

Flight1

Johnie Berntsson 1 defeated Mathieu Richard 0
Franchesco Bruni 1 defeated Terry Hutchinson 0

Standings:Semi-Finals

1 Franchesco Bruni 1.00
1 Johnie Berntsson 1.00
3 Mathieu Richard 0.00
3 Terry Hutchinson 0.0

Velux 5 Oceans organization to deliver €1.8 million of value to skippers

[Source: Velux 5 Oceans] Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, Chairman of Clipper Ventures PLC, organisers of the VELUX 5 OCEANS, today confirmed an unprecedented investment in skippers who enter the 2010-11 edition of the classic solo round the world ocean race. The support will be offered as a minimum to the first 12 teams who officially enter the event:

- €3,500 per stopover to defray accommodation costs at host ports (total of €21,000)
- €10,000 contribution towards communications during the race
- €5,000 offered towards logistics costs around the world

This represents an investment of €36,000 per skipper, which will be further supported by a total prizefund of €500,000 as well as supplementary value in kind across all services up to a total investment of €1.8 million for skippers in the next VELUX 5 OCEANS.

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston commented, "In December, we announced that VELUX and Clipper Ventures would look to actively deliver €1.8 million of value to skippers who take part in the VELUX 5 OCEANS 2010-11. Having committed €500,000 to a prizemoney pot to be split across the legs and fleets, we promised to offer support across the key budget areas of accommodation, communications and logistics. We are now pleased to confirm the first stage of that breakdown, with a direct investment of €36,000 per team during the race. We will continue to deliver further value for skippers to reach our target."

"As title sponsor, we are happy that the Race Management has undertaken dialogues with skippers to identify the best way to allocate the budget we have made available to support skippers campaigns. We hope that today's announcement will meet a clearly expressed need from skippers for support and it's our hope that this investment will encourage some of the most inspirational skippers in the world to participate in the race." Stated Kent Holm, VELUX Market Communications Manager

Sir Robin concluded, "We are very conscious that the format of our event, spanning eight months, visiting five continents and encompassing five gruelling ocean sprints can introduce supplementary costs, especially during such challenging economic times. Although we know that our event offers un-paralleled media exposure and a unique hospitality platform on the Open 60 racing calendar, VELUX and Clipper Ventures realised that we need to go further in our support of our competitors in order to make the race an attractive proposition for sponsors and skippers alike. Whilst our media budget of €2.6 million is designed to deliver a significant return on investment, we hope that our direct investment in accommodation, logistics and communications will take the race to new heights and change the mould of ocean racing."

DETAILS OF THE SKIPPER SUPPORT PACKAGE:

Clipper Ventures and VELUX will jointly deliver value to participating skippers in the VELUX 5 OCEANS 2010-11, which will start on October 17 2010 from La Rochelle (France) and will include five gruelling ocean sprints that visit Cape Town (South Africa), Wellington (New Zealand), Salvador (Brazil) and Charleston (USA).

The total investment by VELUX and Clipper Ventures PLC to support skippers in the VELUX 5 OCEANS 2010-11 is €1.8 million of value for competitors in prize money and key services such as accommodation, logistics and communications.

The first stage of that breakdown is a direct investment of €36,000 per team during the race and €500,000 to prize money.

This investment and value creation will be structured in the following way:
- €500,000 Prize money
- €250,000 Accommodation Support
- €120,000 Communications Support
- €60,000 Logistics Support

Additional value will be delivered via further investments and special deals secured for competitors. VELUX and Clipper Ventures are also supporting skippers in 2009 as they search for sponsorship and financing to achieve their life's ambition of taking on The Ultimate Solo Challenge.

€500,000 Skipper Prizefund
The total prizefund will be split across the 2 fleets and will reward performance over each Ocean Sprint, recognising finishing positions, media work and environmental performance.

The breakdown will be determined closer to race start once the fleet size is known, although the majority of prizemoney will be committed to the Open 60 Class.

€250,000 Accommodation Support
The first 12 teams to officially enter the VELUX 5 OCEANS will receive a cheque for €3,500 at each stopover around the world to defray accommodation costs. The race management team and partners in each port will deliver further value to skippers by special accommodation packages, negotiated on behalf of skippers.

€120,000 Communications Support
The first 12 teams to officially enter the VELUX 5 OCEANS will each receive a €10,000 investment towards communications. This will be offered across hardware, software or airtime services depending on the needs of each team. Partnerships with leading providers across all communications areas will be built to offer additional value to skippers.

€60,000 Logistics Support
The first 12 teams to officially enter the VELUX 5 OCEANS will each receive a €5,000 investment towards logistics costs. The Race Management will be partnering with a supplier to ship materials around the world and will offer special packages for sharing costs and services.

Blackmatch go unbeaten on day 3 of Congressional Cup

Hello again from BlackMatch in California,

A miraculous come from behind victory in our first race today against Ben Ainslie pretty much set the scene for the rest of the day, as we went on to win 5 straight matches to put us in a strong position for the semi finals. Again the sun was out and racing got away in very light and shifty condition. Today we did a great job using the wind shifts to our advantage while others struggled, including Ainslie who had a shocking day, adding no wins to his scorecard.

In our match against Ben, we had an even start however the British team ground out a narrow lead by the first top mark. We did a great job keeping the game close but it wasn't until the final upwind when some good calls by tactician Rod Davis, got us back into the fray and we were close enough to attack on the final downwind. Shadowing the triple gold medalist with our spinnaker we made significant inroads and managed to roll over top of them close to the finish line. After trailing for the entire race we now found ourselves in front and although they had one last throw of the dice near the finish, we managed to defend our lead and take a much needed victory.

We had very convincing wins in our next three matches against Steffan Lindberg, Brian Angel and Phillipe Presti, however in our last match of the day against Sebastian Col, we had an absolute nail biter, again managing to secure a narrow win. We smashed the world number 1 off the start line, forcing a penalty on him while also gaining a 3 boat length advantage. However the talented French team came back and actually passed us by the next bottom mark. They seemed to have amazing boat speed on us in this race and although we kept it close they managed to extend enough to complete their penalty but it was now 'neck and neck' going into the final downwind. A fierce gybing duel ensued down the final run with both teams gaining the advantage at various stages. We held a slim lead approaching the finish when Sebastian went for the roll in a last ditch effort, they were so close to rolling us on the finish line however we defended by luffing hard and held on for the narrowest of wins.

Our run of consecutive wins today has put us in good stead to reach the semi finals, however there are 3 people standing in our way of which one of them we have to beat. Tomorrow we race Hutchinson, Berntsson and Bruni and one win should be enough to guarantee us a place in the final four. Ben Ainslie's bad day means he needs us to lose all three of our races while Mathieu Richard who to went unbeaten today is also in a good position along with Franchesco Bruni of Italy.

It will be interesting to see how tomorrow pans out as it is extremely tight for the remaining semi final berths

Ericsson 4 grabs second place in leg 5 of Volvo Ocean Race

[Source: Ericsson Racing Team] Ericsson Racing Team skipper Torben Grael of Brazil led Ericsson 4 across the Leg 5 finish line here at 2257 GMT to capture second place and solidify its overall lead in the Volvo Ocean Race.

Ericsson 4 finished 12 hours behind teammate Ericsson 3 for an elapsed time of 40 days, 17 hours and 57 minutes. The 7 points for placing second coupled with a first and second at the two scoring gates gave it 14.5 points on the leg (from a maximum of 16) and increased its total to 63.5 points, likely more than 10 points ahead of second place.

Ericsson 4 finishes second in leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race. Rio de Janeiro, 26 March 2009. Video copyright Volvo Ocean Race

Ericsson 3 wins leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race

[Source: Volvo Ocean Race] Ericsson 3 has finally crossed the finish line in Rio De Janeiro to win Leg 5.

After an agonising march to glory, Swedish skipper Magnus Olsson and his men officialy finished at 10:37:57 GMT.

Related audio

Ericsson 3 skipper Magnus Olsson talks about his boat's victory

On arrival, a jubilant Olsson, buoyed by the result, said: "It's unbelievable. We had a fantastic strategy when we needed it. Aksel (Magdahl) did a really good job on that. We were tired but we had a great fighting spirit to the end."

Asked about the go-slow towards the finish line when Ericsson 3 fell into a wind hole and almost ground to a halt within sight of the chequered flag, Olsson, ever the comedian, said: "We didn't want to get too far ahead, so we slowed down a bit, in order to control the other boats."

Ericsson 3 wins leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race. Rio de Janeiro, 26 March 2009. Video copyright Volvo Ocean Race

The Ericsson 3 crew celebrating a well-deserved victory. Rio de Janeiro, 26 March 2009. Photo copyright Dave Kneale/Volvo Ocean Race

Tough day at the office for BlackMatch on day 2 of Congressional Cup

Hello again from BlackMatch in California,

Four matches were completed today and the first round robin was completed, however we could only manage 1 win over last years runner up and Bermuda Gold Cup champion Johnie Berntsson from Sweden. Our 3 losses today came against the rampaging Terry Hutchinson who has lost only one race, 2007 champion Mathieu Richard and surprise package Franchesco Bruni of the Damiani Italia America's cup challenge. Conditions today were stunning although extremely shifty and difficult. After an hour delay this morning action finally got underway in a very light breeze and although we were competitive in all of our matches, things just didn't swing our way today.

In our match against Terry Hutchinson we dominated the pre-start and held the advantage off the start line. A massive split tack due to very light conditions and lack of breeze in the middle of the course lead to us heading to the left side of the course while the American was forced to tack off to the right. While we backed our selves and were confident in the left, sailing is sometimes a game of 'snakes and ladders' and Terry came back in slightly more wind pressure to hold a 2 boat length lead at the top mark, a lead which he defended well throughout the remainder of the race.

Despite our less then ideal day, we still remain tied in 4th position with 5 wins and 5 losses. With only the top four teams going through to the semi finals after a double round robin, we are still well in contention however we need to perform in our remainding round robin matches which means a very big day tomorrow. We have 8 races remaining in the second round robin and with slightly more breeze forecast we are confident we can get the wins we need.

FedEx Express and Line 7 are our two sponsors who have stuck by us throughout our campaign and we would like to yet again thank them for their support. To the RNZYS, Emirates Team New Zealand and everyone else, thank you also for your support.

BlackMatch Racing

Reports: Spanish government refuses to negotiate with Alinghi before court decision in NY

After exactly 470 days without holding a meeting, representatives from the three Spanish public administrations, sat down together in Valencia on Wednesday afternoon and during 4 hours discussed the contract Alinghi presented for the organization of 2 regattas in Valencia, in July and October of this year.

As it has been the case in the past, the meeting was just another example of the divide that exists between the three parties and the difficulty in reaching a consensus. On the one hand, the city and regional government of Valencia, that always work in tandem, and on the other hand the Spanish central government.

Elena Salgado, minister of Public Affairs, argued that Alinghi's demand for a 20-million euro host-city fee is "exorbitant". In addition, she also considers "abusive" a number of other clauses, such as the veto to the participation of BMW Oracle in such races, the demand by ACM for the city to build 7 more bases in a short time or the veto to any commercial activity (during the regattas) that doesn't form part of the official organization.

Alinghi's Demands

-Fee: 20 million euros

-Advertizing: Exclusive rights. Only ACM's own brands can be advertized

-Events: Veles e Vents VIP building must be emptied for ACM's own use

-Percentage fee: Bars and restaurants must pay ACM 15% of their profits

-Infrastructure: Seven additional bases must be built inside the port

-BMW Oracle: If the Americans lose the legal dispute they must be expelled from their base within 60 days

As a result, the central government will withdraw from any further negotiations in order to hold the 33rd America's Cup in Valencia, until there is a firm decision from the Court of Appeals in New York. According to the minister, the central government would be willing to take into consideration the payment of 20 million euros, only if these 2 regattas formed part of the 33rd America's Cup. That means, only if Alinghi wins the legal dispute. In that case, the central government would be willing "to pay even more, if necessary". If BMW Oracle prevails in the court, the commercial value of these 2 regattas will be significantly smaller, according to the minister.

For her it is "inconceivable" to sign such a contract with a court decision pending and by doing so the government would be taking sides in the dispute. She also expressed her disapproval of ACM's demand to give BMW Oracle a 60-day deadline to abandon their base in Valencia, in case they lose the court case.

On the other hand, always according to the same sources, the city and the regional government are willing to sit with Alinghi and negotiate the contract, in view of the economic windfall for Valencia. It is more than clear that these 2 public administrations would do whatever it takes to hold these 2 regattas in Valencia, regardless of the outcome of the legal dispute. Nevertheless, Valencia's mayor stated that the contract presented by Alinghi was just a "preliminary draft" and that "they can demand anything they want but everything has to be negotiated".

Video: Banque Populaire V trimaran trains off Cadix

Days go by and the long awaited window of opportunity seems to never come for the crew of the Banque Populaire V trimaran. Pascal Bidégorry and his crew still look forward to beating the Route de la Découverte record and take advantage of this long wait in order to further finetune their boat.

Given the absence of a suitable environment for the establishment of new record on the route from the Spanish port of Cadix-Puerto Sherry to San Salvador in the Bahamas archipelago, the Banque Populaire maxi trimaran went offshore for a few days last week. The French crew faced varied and testing conditions, as seen in the following video.

Banque Populaire V trimaran trains while waiting for a window of opportunity to cross the north Atlantic ocean. Cadix, March 2009. Video copyright Banque Populaire

Ericsson 3 goes into hiding

[Source: Volvo Ocean Race] It is day 40 of this 12,300 nautical mile jaunt from Qingdao, China to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and in the closing stages, the leading boat, Ericsson 3, has opted to play her stealth card. She has gone into hiding and will only reappear 24- hours later, or once she is within 50 nm of the finish in Rio.

This is the first time on this leg that the stealth card, newly introduced for the 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race, has been played. Ericsson 3 began her ‘StealthPlay’ to give it its official title, immediately after the 1000 GMT position report this morning and her position in the fleet and all her onboard data will now be secret.

However, at 1000 GMT this morning, the last position report before she ‘disappeared’ from the world’s radar, Ericsson 3 had 194 miles to run to the finish as was parallel with Sao Paulo. She was averaging a double-figure boat speed of 10.5 knots and had achieved a run of 262 nm in the past 24 hours.

Ericsson 3 dry out their clothes and food bags whilst in Stealth Play, as they close in on Rio de Janeiro. Atlantic Ocean, 25 MArch 2009. Photo copyright Gustav Morin/Ericsson 3/Volvo Ocean Race

Her nearest and deadliest rival, Ericsson 4, with the hugely talented Torben Grael at the helm in what are his home waters, was a safe 103 nm behind her. But, spicing things up in the last hours of the leg, Grael too opted for StealthPlay shortly after today’s 1300 GMT positions were released and now the whereabouts of the man who has five Olympic medals to his name and who knows the waters off Rio like the back of his hand, will be unknown for 24-hours.

At 1300 GMT today, prior to announcing their StealthPlay, Ericsson 4 had 254 nm to run to the finish, with third-placed PUMA a further 86 miles astern.

Yesterday, PUMA’s skipper Ken Read was questioning the motives of the Wind Gods. “Do they really need to play with us like this?” he asked. He answered his own question when he said, “We have a choice. We always have a choice, but now, we really have a choice. We can feel sorry for ourselves and bitch about the weather and the winds and everything else that is preventing us from the ‘all we can eat in Rio’, or we can suck it up and deal with our situation the best we can. Continue to race and continue to do our jobs.”

Read’s crew clearly chose the latter option and Read is very proud of all involved. “Not a single ‘feeling sorry for ourselves’ comment. We continue to race,” he said.

The top four boats, including the beleaguered Green Dragon have all been set free of the high pressure and are making good speeds towards the finish, while Telefónica Blue is the latest victim of the light spot and her speed is nearly half that of the Dragon’s, at 7.5 nm average over the last three hours.

After closing to within 50 nm of Ian Walker and his men yesterday, Bouwe Bekking’s blue boat has now slipped back to 164 nm, as she too now has to fight her way through the high pressure.

“What could have been a case of just counting down the miles to Rio has become for us an exciting duel to the finish,” declared Telefónica Blue’s helmsman Simon Fisher.

As well as keeping Telefónica Blue at bay, Green Dragon has her own issues onboard. Their fuel situation has become critical as the alternator on the generator isn’t working and crew has to use the main engine, which takes more fuel.

“We have calculated we have six days [of fuel] left,” says skipper Ian Walker, who reckons it will take them the full six days to reach Rio.

Ericsson 3 is expected to complete this leg in the early hours of tomorrow morning, followed by Ericsson 4 and PUMA later the same day. Computer routing software is predicting a finish for both Green Dragon and Telefónica Blue on 28 March, but with 450 nm still to run and the possibility of the wind fading, the finishing order for these two is far from a done deal.

Leg Five Day 40: 1300 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(boat name/country/skipper/nationality/distance to finish)

Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) STEALTHPLAY
Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) DTF 254
PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +86
Green Dragon IRL/CHI (Ian Walker/GBR) +459
Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +623

Terry Hutchinson leads Congressional Cup unbeaten

[Source: Congressional Cup] Two illustrious sailors---Terry Hutchinson and Ben Ainslie---are the first to say the Long Beach Yacht Club's 45th Congressional Cup is a lot closer than it looks on the scoreboard that shows them with 6-0 and 5-1 records after the first day of racing Tuesday.

But the Annapolis veteran, who won here in 1992 and called tactics for winners Ken Read in 2003 and Dean Barker in 2006, said he isn't pondering the choice between $30,000 or the keys to a new Acura awarded to anyone who goes undefeated all week.

"There are a lot of good sailors here," said Hutchinson, who was recently honored as America's Rolex Yachtsman of the Year. "You could easily go for oh and six tomorrow."

And it wasn't a perfect day for Hutchinson's crew, which like all the others is lodged at LBYC members' homes.

"The day started out," he said, "with those five words no host likes to hear: 'Do you have a plunger?' "

It did get better. Hutchinson dealt Ainslie, the triple Olympic gold medalist and ISAF World Sailor of the Year, his only loss, by five boat lengths.

Ainslie said, "The thing to do is roll with the punches and keep it going."

Some had more punches to roll with than others. France's Sébastien Col, Mathieu Richard and Philippe Presti, currently ranked Nos. 1, 3 and 6 in the world, share sixth place with only two wins each. Richard won the traditional Crimson Blazer here two years ago.

The depth of the field is a factor. Hutchinson's tactician, Cameron Appleton of New Zealand, said their toughest race was against the U.S.'s Brian Angel, who stands 1-5. Ainslie said Sweden's Johnie Berntsson---3-3 but second here the last two years---gave them their worst moments, next to their loss to Hutchinson.

New Zealand's Adam Minoprio, a winner in the World Match Racing Tour opener at Marseille earlier this month, shares third placed with Italy's Francesco Bruni, a late entry, at 4-2.

With 18 rounds to run through Friday, leading into Saturday's championship sailoffs for the final four, principal race officer Mike Van Dyke made the most of steady southwest breezes building from 6 to 14 knots through the afternoon on the half-mile windward-leeward course inside the Long Beach breakwater.

Bruni, who wasn't invited until two weeks ago when a spot opened up, said at the evening's press conference, "We're very happy with the sun, the wind . . . and the pizza [delivered to the teams] after sailing."

Hutchinson was happy, too, after winning only two of his six starts and breaking even in two others.

"We clearly lost our last start to Angel," he said. "I expect we're going to have some hiccups on the way."

But his best move saved the race against Angel, who led the final race going into the first windward mark.

Tactician Cameron Appleton of New Zealand said, "That was our hardest race of the day. He was first off the line and controlled the race. But at the top mark he hoisted his chute a little too soon and we came in between him and the buoy. Then we luffed him head to wind and he had to drop [the spinnaker], and we bore off, raised our chute and sailed away."

Berntsson pulled off another slick comeback to beat Col by four seconds. First, he cut Col's lead to less than a boat length with a quicker spinnaker hoist and jib drop at the last mark, and when Col tried to luff him upwind near the finish he was able to break the overlap and bear away to the line to win by half a boat length.

Standings:Round Robin
1 Terry Hutchinson 6.00
2 Ben Ainslie 5.00
3 Franchesco Bruni 4.00
4 Adam Minoprio 4.00
5 Johnie Berntsson 3.00
6 Philippe Presti 2.00
7 Mathieu Richard 2.00
8 Sebastien Col 2.00
9 Staffan Lindberg 1.00
10 Brian Angel 1.00

Difficult times aboard the Green Dragon

[Source: Green Dragon Team] Today is Day 39 and there is less than 900 nm to go for the Dragon to arrive in Rio de Janeiro to see their families, get a good shower, drink a cold beer and have a proper meal.

Weather conditions have remained the same for the last 24 hours. "At 10:00 ZULU this morning wind speeds and boat speeds were still trying to struggle out of single digits, the wind direction mostly southerly. Each boat was wriggling north towards Rio de Janeiro, their tracks like a snail’s trail down a garden path. It was a very different picture for Green Dragon and Telefónica Blue. They are spread almost 400 miles apart, east-to-west across the course to Rio. There’s less than 1,000 miles to go, and with Green Dragon’s advantage to the finish down to less than a 100 miles, this looks more of a race." - Volvo’s race expert Mark Chisnell informed.

Related audio

Green Dragon's skipper Ian Walker analyses the situation 900 nm from Rio

Update from Green Dragon Skipper Ian Walker:
"It is 6:30 in the evening on the 39th day. We were supposed to have finished three days ago. We’ve managed an entire one hundred miles today in 24 hours at an average of just over 4 knots. The forecast doesn’t look much better for the next two days so we’re facing another week at sea. It’s five days since we rounded Cape Horn and we hoped to get there (Rio) in seven so we are going to be five days later than we thought and we’ve got two days food left. So, we’ve split up all the food, we’ve issued all the food to each crew member or to each watch so they are in charge for their own food so there can’t be arguments about it.

Everyone is on pretty good form but obviously a bit disappointed. Now our other problem is Telefónica Blue who are able to come up behind while we’re sitting here in no wind and try and pass us to the east. Difficult times at sunset on the Dragon. In times like this I just come up on the foredeck and take a moment because life is not that bad. This is a very pleasant evening."

After 39 days at sea, all food is being strictly rationed and must not exceed the black line on the pot. South Atlantic Ocean, 23 March 2009. Photo copyright Guo Chuan/Green Dragon Racing/Volvo Ocean Race

Meanwhile in Valencia... BMW Oracle's Extreme40 is back on the water

We are now well into the 3rd year where news, directly or indirectly, related to the America's Cup is either about lawyers and judges in New York or multihull yachts, either small or monster ones. Today's post is about a smaller one, 40 feet long to be precise.

BMW Oracle's Extreme 40 catamaran was put back on the water and it seems it won't be long before they sail off the Malvarosa beach. With the court decision expected any time now, the Americans must train as much as possible on multihulls. We don't know whether James Spithill is in town but since the test sessions in San Diego have come to an end and the 90-foot trimaran is being modified, it is highly likely. We'll keep an eye. In any case, Franck Cammas and his Groupama crew will also be coming to Valencia to train together with the Americans.

BMW Oracle's Extreme40 catamaran is back on the water after the winter break. Valencia, 24 March 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Meanwhile, Team Container's STP65 is getting ready in the Luna Rossa base for her second training session in Valencia. As for the Luna Rossa STP65 boat, she is still inside the shed on her cradle and we don't know whether a new mast will arrive in time for the Italians to be ready for their first 2009 regatta, next month in Palma.

Team Container's STP65 yacht is getting ready for her second training week. Valencia, 24 March 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Team Container's STP65 yacht is getting ready for her second training week while Luna Rossa's yacht is still inside the shed on her cradle. Valencia, 24 March 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

Finally, it seems that some activity is taking place in the Desafío base. After many months being shat down, the boat shed sprang back to life. The door that used to hide ESP-88, and now the team's TP52 yacht, is open in view of the Spanish team's participation in the 2009 Audi Medcup. Desafío has scrapped its GP42 project and will now focus its non-America's Cup sailing on the TP52 bat that will once again be skippered by Paul Cayard.

Desafío won the GP42 circuit last year and its withdrawal, together with 3rd-placed Near Miss, brings the number of participating yachts down to a mere handful.

Some signs of life in the Desafío base after many months. Valencia, 24 March 2009. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / Valencia Sailing

11 TP52's and 6 GP42's to start in this year's Audi Medcup

[Source: Audi Medcup] The 2009 Audi MedCup Circuit starts on 12 May with the City of Alicante Trophy. With the team registration period now open, seventeen teams, both TP52 and GP42, have shown interest in competing on the world's leading regatta circuit, which this year is made up of five events in four European countries.

“A fleet of 17 teams from 10 different countries and the best international crew shows just how much the Audi MedCup has consolidated, and how it has become widely recognised as the Circuit par excellence,” indicates Ignacio Triay, Audi MedCup Circuit Director. “This can be deemed a success, especially in a year where the current global economic climate is having a negative effect in all areas; sports sponsorship in general and in that of sailing in particular.”

“As a sailor, I tend to value more the quality of the competition than the quantity,” adds Nacho Postigo, Technical Director of the Audi MedCup Circuit. “Seeing the wave of established international events that have been cancelled and the reduction in numbers on events that stood out for their particularly high entry lists, I think we can feel quite satisfied. It is reassuring to know that the Audi MedCup Circuit can count on the participation of so many teams of such a high calibre.”

11 TP52 to compete for the City of Alicante Trophy

11 TP52s from nine countries will race for the The City of Alicante Trophy, including a new team: Emirates Team New Zealand, formed by the America’s Cup syndicate and skippered by Dean Barker. For the first time a New Zealand team will compete on the Circuit and have to go up against 10 other teams who have all proved their domination over the TP52.

The three winning boats from the 2008 edition of the Audi MedCup Circuit will compete once again. They will be joined at the start line by a strong international fleet of TP52s. Following on from last year’s final standings, the American Quantum, entrusted to Terry Hutchinson to defend their title as champion; the Spanish boat, Bribón, second in 2008, will be skippered by leading helmsman Thierry Peponnet; Matador, the Argentinian team, will be led by Guillermo Parada; Artemis, will be led by Sweden’s Torbjorn Tornqvist; Spain’s Desafío returns at the hands of Paul Cayard; the Italian Audi Sailing Team will be skippered once more by Riccardo Simoneschi; Cristabella, the British entry, will be led by John Cook; Synergy from Russia will have two lead helmsmen, Valentin Zavadnikov and Sergey Pchugin; Afonso Domingos returns to skipper the Portuguese entry, Bigamist; Valars from Russia will be led by Sergei Shetsov.

With this spectacular fleet, racing promises to be just as intense as that witnessed in 2008.

GP42s new on the scene

The fleet of GP42s will compete on the Audi MedCup Circuit for the first time - their racing is scheduled one day after the TP52s. Six teams have confirmed entry for Alicante on what will be the first regatta in the history of the GP42s on the Circuit: The Spanish, Madrid About Sailing owned by José María van der Ploeg, Daniel Caleros’ Puerto Calero and Caser-Quum owned by Javier Goizcueta; Roberto Moniti’s Italian Airis – which finished second on the 2008 GP42 international circuit – Roma 2 owned by Filippo Faruffini; and Swing, the Japanese entry owned by Keisuke Suzuki.

“Having six GP42 from three different countries on the start line in Alicante is good news.” explains Ignacio Triay. “We would naturally like to have more, but we have to be realistic and take into account that this is their first year on the Circuit. I am convinced that we will see the number of entries increase over the coming seasons.”

According to Nacho Postigo, the introduction of the GP42s will mean a step ahead in the growth of the Audi MedCup Circuit who will benefit from both fleets. “The influence will be very positive for both the Circuit and for the GP42 Class itself. I think that we will see lots of synergies coming out of both divisions; and therefore see more competitiveness coming out of the GP42s wanting to move up to the next length whilst those on a TP52 who have a limited budget and are unable to maintain the level that is required to excel can opt to move to a GP42. At the same time a potential owner or sponsor can start to sail on the Circuit on the GP42 and then jump to a TP52.”

Preparations and new additions

With less than two months to go to the start of the first event on the calendar, all areas of the Audi MedCup Circuit organisation are making final preparations. “The first event is always the most complicated in terms of organising and these weeks to the build up are always the busiest with preparations” explains Ignacio Triay. “Especially this year as we have increased the attractions of the Audi MedCup Circuit with the introductions of a number of interesting novelties. Our objective will be to open the events up to the public further which in general does mean more work for the organisers, however we have a good team working and I fully trust that all will be ready to ensure success from the first event.”

The full list of confirmed pre registered entries for the opening event of the 2009 Audi MedCup Circuit in TP52s, including nationality and skipper, is the following:

Artemis (Sweden) - Torbjorn Tornqvist
Audi Sailing Team (Italy) - Riccardo Simoneschi
Bigamist (Portugal) - Afonso Domingos
Bribón (Spain) - Thierry Peponnet
Cristabella (United Kingdom) - John Cook
Desafío (Spain) - Paul Cayard
Emirates Team New Zealand (New Zealand) - Dean Barker
Matador (Argentina) - Guillermo Parada
Quantum Racing (United States)- Terry Hutchinson
Synergy (Russia) - Valentin Zavadnikov/Sergey Pchugin
Valars (Russia) - Sergei Shetsov

The full list of confirmed pre registered entries for the opening event of the 2009 Audi MedCup Circuit in GP42s, including nationality and skipper, is the following:

Airis (Italy) – Roberto Monti
Caser-Quum (Spain) – Javier Goizueta
Madrid About Sailing (Spain) – José María van der Ploeg
Puerto Calero (Spain) – Daniel Calero
Roma 2 (Italy) – Filippo Faruffini
Swing (Japan) – Keisuke Suzuki

Team Origin enters the World Match Racing Tour

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] TEAMORIGIN the British challenger for the 33rd America’s Cup skippered by triple Olympic Gold medallist Ben Ainslie will compete on the 2009 World Match Racing Tour having secured the final Tour Card.

Ben Ainslie (UK), helmsman, will lead a TEAMORIGIN crew, that also includes double Olympic Gold medallist, Iain Percy (UK), Matt Cornwell (UK) and Christian Kamp (DEN), at up to 9 match racing events around the world, starting with Match Race Germany on 27 May and culminating with the Monsoon Cup in Malaysia in December. “Since TEAMORIGIN was formed there has been limited opportunity for us to sail as a team. The Tour will allow us to compete at a high level of match racing competition whilst we develop our core sailing team. We look forward to competing on the Tour this year and having a shot at the World Championship. The Tour will aid in our preparations for the next Cup as and when it happens” said Ainslie.

For Ben and Iain, better known for their phenomenal Olympic success, the World Match Racing Tour, as well as a natural stepping stone on their path to the Americas Cup, presents a new challenge for the pair and the chance to follow the progress of these talented sailors throughout the 2009 Tour is a very exciting prospect.
“With the addition of TEAMORIGIN to the teams competing on the Tour this year we are shaping up for a highly competitive season. The WMRT’s commercial platform and television coverage will enable the team to continue racing and continue to build the team profile, as well as contributing towards the solid base they need to build a winning Americas Cup team.” said Tour Director Craig Mitchell.

Current World Match Racing Tour Leaderboard (top eight teams after stage one of ten):
1. Adam Minoprio (NZL) Emirates Team New Zealand/Black Match Racing, 25
2. Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team/ French Team Spirit, 20
3. Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team, 15
4. Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team, 12
5. Ed Baird (USA) Alinghi, 10
6. Sebastien Col (FRA) French Match Racing Team/K-Challenge, 8
7. Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Shosholoza, 6
8. Ian Williams (GBR) Bahrain Team Pindar, 4 points

Groupama 3 sailing along the northern African coast

[Source: Franck Cammas - Groupama 3] Groupama 3 is continuing her course towards Istanbul. Last night and for a large part of the morning the crew has had to battle against a capricious wind.

Groupama 3 tracking

Follow the Groupama 3 route during her training

Despite these conditions Franck Cammas, contacted early this Sunday afternoon, appeared satisfied to be sailing aboard his maxi trimaran once more: "Everything's going very well aboard. Groupama 3 is behaving well in all the points of sail we encounter. In addition I am surrounded by experienced sailors who seem happy to be here! So when the guys are happy, I am too!

Right now we are to the north of the African coast. We had to perform a series of tacks throughout the night, though this morning the wind had dropped right off and the engine had to be started once again!"

The trimaran of the insurer-banker Groupama has since touched a bit of downwind conditions, which will allow her to slip along at speed as far as Greece: "The wind is even set to build this evening off Sicily. However, although this N'ly wind is pushing us along nicely, it's also making temperatures less balmy!! It's freezing!!" concludes Franck laughing.

Telecom Italia exits Luna Rossa; Prada becomes sole shareholder

According to Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor, Italy's main financial news network, Telecom Italia, Italy's major telecommunications group, sold its 49% stake in Luna Rossa Challenge 2007 and Luna Rossa Trademark to Prada, the second shareholder of the Italian America's Cup team. Following the operation, Prada becomes the sole shareholder of the team, holding 100% of its capital.

According to the report, Prada bought the remaining 49% of the team for 13 million euros, resulting in a gross profit of 4 million for the telecom group. The sale agreement was signed in September 2008 and its deadline was the 15th March 2009. The article doesn't specify when the sale took place.

High-pressure slows Volvo Ocean Race fleet

[Source: Volvo Ocean Race] It is an agonising time for Ericsson 3 as Magnus Olsson watches the rest of the fleet catching him as his team fights yet another high-pressure area, which sits between them and the finish of leg five in Rio de Janeiro.

Over the past 24 hours, second-placed Ericsson 4 has closed the gap to 57 nm, gaining 29 miles. PUMA too has knocked a dent in the deficit and is now just 116 nm behind Ericsson 3, a gain of 89 nm in 24 hours. These three yachts are now 400 nm of the coast of Uruguay, roughly parallel to Cabo Palinio.

Green Dragon is still closer inshore, 210 nm off Mar del Plata in Argentina, which was a stopover in the 1981-82 Whitbread Race. Their inshore move, while looking disastrous yesterday, has gained the team 78 nm, just as navigator Wouter Verbraak hoped it would.

With just 771 miles still to run for Ericsson 3 before crossing the finish line in Rio and the safe haven of Marina Da Gloria where hot showers, cool beers and famous Brazilian food await, boat speeds are down to under 10 knots and yet the distance is tantalisingly close.

The only boat achieving a reasonable speed is Telefónica Blue, but she still languishes at the tail end of the fleet, some 586 miles behind the leaders.

Current predictions are for a finish for Ericsson 3, provided she can hold off the advances of Ericsson 4, on Wednesday morning, with the other two podium places being decided later in the day. Green Dragon is forecast to finish a day behind, in the afternoon of 26 March, while Telefónica Blue still has just over 1300 nm still to run.

Leg Five Day 37: 1300 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(boat name/country/skipper/nationality/distance to finish)

Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) DTF 771 nm
Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) +57
PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +116
Green Dragon IRL/CHI (Ian Walker/GBR) +335
Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +586

Less than 900 miles to go for Ericsson 3 that faced tough conditions

Hopefully the last tough night behind us on leg 5. Fighting against a front and staying in it has been on the agenda many times on this leg. You may win a lot of miles by doing so and if you fall short the wind will back and you start to loose. This is why again on the night the 19 th we had a blast in really mixed up sea state.

But we are human beings not robots so we too start to feel tired and especially fed up with these fights, due to it has been most of the times tight reaching instead of nice downwind sailing.

Chris Bedford, Ericsson Team meteorologist, talks looks at what's approaching in terms of weather and wind for Ericsson 3 and 4. 21 March 2009. Video copyright Ericsson Racing Team

You have lots of speed, people are flying around in the cockpit and the constant water hosing makes you crazy. The only thing that keeps you fighting is the commitment to the team and the loyalty to others. As a team you feel stronger and perform better during the tough times.

But for now hopefully we can start to change to shorts and t shirts. Its been a long ride so far all the way from Taiwan. Just waiting to get to Rio and get a couple of beers and meet my wife and the kids. But lets first fight to the finish.

Thomas Johanson, Watch captain
Ericsson 3

Groupama 3 passes Strait of Gibraltar on her way to Istanbul

It's a cheerful Swiss sailor Steve Ravussin who swiftly picks up this Friday lunchtime. "That's it, we've passed them!" From now on, the pillars of Hercules are in Groupama 3's wake and they won't see them again until June, when the trimaran heads for Lisbon, the final stopover on the `route of the subsidiaries'.

Right now, the trimaran belonging to the insurer-banker Groupama is already in the Mediterranean and the 11 men on board seem satisfied with their passage through the Staits of Gibraltar* as watch leader, media man and helm, Steve Ravussin, indicates:

"We haven't been very quick over the past 24 hours. After rounding the cape of Saint-Vincent, where we had to wait a few hours for the wind to ease near the straits, the wind gods left us in the lurch and we even had to start the engine!

We passed Gibraltar this morning in some superb conditions with 23 knots of wind. It was perfect! We hurtled along downwind toward the coast without a care!

Groupama 3 goes really well. Everything which was done during the refit last winter is really only a bonus! The crew has done a great job. We're currently enjoying a fantastic delivery!"

Groupama 3 is still benefiting from a little downwind sailing, switching tack under gennaker before being faced with some upwind conditions over the coming hours...

Groupama 3 passes the Strait of Gibraltar with Franck Cammas on the helm. Gibraltar, 20 March 2009. Photo copyright Groupama

Two new Décision 35's join this year's Challenge Julius Baer

[Source: Challenge Julius Baer] The Challenge Julius Baer 2009 which begins in a few weeks, reserves for this year, its novelties. It’s the Grand Prix Corum, newly renamed, which will launch the Challenge from 8th to 10th May. By giving its name to the famous Grand Prix of Geneva, the watchmakers brand from Chaux-de-Fonds, confirms its attachment to the sailing world. It also forms an alliance with the Décision 35 of Nicolas Grange, SUI 2 Okalys-Corum, which reinforces its presence in the sponsor of sailing.

This year, two new Décision 35 will come and add on to the nine boats already running. The first one, SUI 11 Veltigroup, will be helmed by Stève Ravussin. After having sailed episodically on Zen Too in 2008, this great specialist of oceanic and lemanic multihull will try this year the adventure as boat-manager. The objective of this new tandem is clear: “With Veltigroup, we are going to discover a new sportive challenge… Let’s say that 2009 will be the year of occasional wins and settings and then from 2010 we’ll try to attack the championship!”, says Stève Ravussin.

The second newcomer, SUI 12 Banque Populaire will be helmed by Pascal Bidégorry, winner of the Solitaire du Figaro or else champion of the world of the 60’ Orma. One of the confessed goals of the Basque skipper is to perfect the routine of the team in multihull on the Lake Geneva, within sight of his attempts to beat oceanic records with the maxi-trimaran ‘Banque Populaire 5’ of 140 feet.

The strengthened participation of oceanic sailors on the leman courses confirms once again the international reputation of the Challenge Julius Baer. We can therefore expect nice confrontations between the local teams which are especially at ease on the lake and the world’s best sailors.

Don’t miss the launch of the 2009 season of the Challenge Julius Baer by assisting to the regattas of the Grand Prix Corum from May 8th to 10th at the Société Nautique de Genève!

Alinghi, winners of the 2008 Challenge Julius Baer. Photo copyright Jean-Marie Liot / Julius Baer

2009 calendar:
8 – 10 May Grand Prix Corum – SNG
23 – 24 May Grand Prix Romandie.com Act I – Rolle
6 June Genève – Rolle – Genève
13 June Bol d’Or Mirabaud
27 – 28 June Grand Prix Romandie.com Act II – Versoix
22 – 23 August Open de Nyon
5 – 6 September HP Cup La Réserve
18 – 20 September Grand Prix Beau-Rivage Palace

Teams 2009
SUI1 Alinghi
SUI2 Okalys- Corum
SUI3 Julius Baer
SUI4 Zen Too
SUI5 Foncia
SUI7 Zebra 7
SUI8 Romandie.com
SUI9 Smart Home
SUI10 Ladycat
SUI11 Veltigroup
SUI12 Banque Populaire

Bouwe Bekking: Telefonica Blue rounds Cape Horn in "great style" and 4 knots of breeze

Just went in great style around Cape Horn. Not meaning blasting around, the opposite is true, only four knots of breeze, so it gave us a splendid opportunity to have a real rounding party.

The cigars were out, home brewed grappa was served and each of us got a golden earring. Plenty of time for individual pictures and interviews, with a big sign Cabo de Hornos in front and the Cape on the background.

David Vera and Mike Pammenter were, on this occasion, allowed to pose in their Speedo swim shorts, as that is what they wear on Telefónica Negro when it is warm. But here onboard we have the rule to wear ‘proper’ clothing, so they can pack them away until Rio, where they probably will exchange them for some tangas instead.

Telefonica Blue rounds the Cape Horn in last position. Cape Horn, 19 March 2009. Photo copyright Gabriele Olivo / Equipo Telefonica / Volvo Ocean Race>

This was my seventh rounding, and number four in very little wind, even now I’m not sure what I prefer. The breeze gives you the classic rounding, but in little wind there is more enjoyment and actually the opportunity to live the moment is more intense. Of course this was a way better rounding then last time, when the night before we nearly sank. We talked a fair bit about that experience and still realize how lucky we were at that time. But we talked as well about the old days when the square riggers came around; they must have sometimes been completely handed over to the will of King Neptune and praying for survival when rounding in a gale.

Yesterday we had some big breeze, up to 35 knots and beam reaching, so the fire hose was continuously on and very uncomfortable on deck and downstairs as we were slamming hard. I gave up trying to count the number of slams in minute, as it was nearly every second we bounced off the waves. We had to slow down, and hoisted a small staysail. So today is the complete opposite. Now slowly heading north and every mile we sail it will get warmer, especially good news for some of the Spanish guys, who still and never will get used to colder temperatures.

Bouwe Bekking - skipper

Ericsson 3 and Ericsson 4 in fight to finish

[Source: Ericsson Racing Team] One day after leading the Volvo Ocean Race fleet past Cape Horn, the Nordic crew aboard Ericsson 3 was still reflecting on leading the fleet past the historic landmark.

“The feeling of going around the Horn is a peak in your career, in your life,” said skipper Magnus Olsson. “This is my sixth time, and this time I was most happy for all the rookies we have on the boat, who have never done it before. I could see how happy they were. They have done an enormous job. It was a fantastic achievement to go around first. I can hardly believe it.”

Like the Nordic crew, the International crew on Ericsson 4 was exhausted from the final approach in strong winds along the coastline of Chile.

Celebrations aboard Ericsson 3 after rounding Cape Horn in first place. Cape Horn, 17 March 2009. Video copyright Ericsson Racing Team

“The past 48 hours or so have been very intense onboard Ericsson 4,” bowman Ryan Godfrey said. “The unfortunate combination of variable wind speeds and directions and navigating our way close to land has meant many sail changes and very little sleep. I think most onboard would have had only one or two hours in the past couple days, so we are all extremely tired and hoping that as we head offshore again the breeze will settle and we can return to our usual watch system.”

The International crew has also been dealing with a couple of breakdowns. Approaching the Horn, the crew lost steerage while doing 36 knots boatspeed when the bow of the boat buried in a wave and the loads on the rudders ripped the sheaves for the steering cables out of the boat.

Later, the crew discovered a leak in their keel hydraulics that saw a puddle of oil develop in the bilge.

“It was a bit of a worry early yesterday that we discovered a hydraulic leak in the keel manifold,” Godfrey said. “Horacio (Carabelli) got straight about the repair and seems happy with its status now, but the usual contingency plans were discussed for after the scoring waypoint. Luckily, Stu (Bannatyne) didn’t have his third visit to Ushuaia!”

Dramatic moments aboard Ericsson 4. The crew loses steerage while going at 36 knots but manage to repair the damage. Cape Horn, 17 March 2009. Video copyright Ericsson Racing Team

Watch captain Bannatyne has been labeled the black cat in the crew because his five previous roundings of Cape Horn have not been without incident. But Ericsson 4 escaped the wrath of the Horn without damage.

Both crews are happy to be out of the Southern Ocean and heading north towards warmer climes. Ericsson 3 has gained nearly six degrees of latitude since rounding the Horn, and the conditions are much calmer as the two crews plotted a course to the west of the Falkland Islands.

At today’s 1300 GMT report, Ericsson 3 led Ericsson 4 by 45 nautical miles, with the finish in Rio de Janeiro 1,872 miles away. Ericsson 3 was sailing in a westerly breeze and making 17 knots boatspeed in seas less than two meters. They had also gained some separation from third-placed Puma, which trailed the leader by 171 miles.

After Ericsson 4 rounded Cape Horn, watch captain Brad Jackson snapped the crew back into reality by noting that the first boat past Cape Horn typically wins into Rio.

“At that stage the boys got stuck back into pushing the boat - all joined in the common goal to break history and get to Rio first,” said Godfrey. “We have managed to maintain our lead over Puma and push hard in the chase for Ericsson 3, but we know their boat and sails are very quick and we will have quite the task ahead of us to pull them in.”

Olsson promises his crew won’t be easy to beat.

“Whoever is going to beat us will have to work hard at it,” said the ebullient skipper. “We’re going to work harder than ever to finish this race in a good way. We have the motivation and spirit to fight to the bitter end, for sure.”

Groupama 3 starts trip to Istanbul

[Source: Franck Cammas - Groupama] Tuesday 17th March. The sun has just risen as Groupama 3 leaves her base in Lorient, Brittany. At the helm, Franck Cammas gives his orders to his ten crew with a mixture of precision and good humour. All eyes turn to the team back on land and Lorient's Cité de la Voile, which the maxi trimaran won't see again before the summer, after covering over 13,000 miles and performing two record attempts.

Groupama 3 tracking

Follow the Groupama 3 route during her training

For this initial Mediterranean campaign, Groupama 3 is heading for Istanbul in Turkey, where France's number one mutual insurance company goes by the name of "Basak Groupama"

With a little less than 3,000 miles to the gateway to the Orient, it's a beautiful course which awaits the crew of Groupama 3: "We're going to be discovering some new navigation zones, particularly in the East of the Mediterranean with the Aegean Sea, the Ionian islands, the Dardanelles Strait and finally Istanbul. It's going to be an excellent training session for the crew and a good test for the new version Groupama 3 because the image we have of a calm Mediterranean Sea is often mistaken. The sea can be short and nasty" explains Franck Cammas, a sailor born in Southern France.

The Groupama 3 crew about to embark on its first Med campaign. Lorient, 17 March 2009. Photo copyright Yvan Zedda

During this initial stopover in Istanbul, the Groupama sailing team will be showing its guests the joys as well as the tribulations of sailing on the fastest yacht in the world (record for the greatest distance covered in 24 hours of 794 miles): "We are proud to be in a position to give the staff and clients from our branches a tour of the maxi trimaran sporting our colours. When we began our partnership with Franck, some twelve years ago now, we didn't have a presence in these countries. As such they will be able to discover Groupama 3 and her crew, who share the Group's values. Together, our goal today is to become one of the top ten European insurers between now and 2012" announces Frédérique Granado, Director of External Communications at Groupama.

This international development is a theme echoed aboard Groupama 3 since, in addition to Yann Dekker, a South African who was on the bow during the last record attempts, an American sailor by the name of Stan Honey will also be joining the crew this year. An engineering graduate from the prestigious American universities of Yale and Stanford, Stan held the Atlantic and 24 hour record with Playstation before going on to win the last edition of the Volvo Ocean Race aboard ABN AMRO: "I am very happy to be joining the Groupama team. The boat is very fast and I like the rational approach of Franck Cammas. I've begun to work with Sylvain Mondon from Météo France who is based in Toulouse. We get on well and he's very competent. All that's left is to see how the crew work at sea. I can't wait to get going and I know that I'm really lucky to be here. I know a lot of people who'd like to be in my place".

Groupama 3 sailing crew - 2009 season

• Franck Cammas Watch leader - helm / Skipper
• Stève Ravussin Watch leader - helm / Video - Photo Manager
• Frédéric Le Peutrec Watch leader - helm / Head of onboard food
• Stan Honey Navigator
• Loic Le Mignon Helm / Superstructure Manager
• Ronan Le Goff No.1 / Rig and superstructure
• Jacques Caraës No.1 / Video - Photo Manager
• Pierre Pennec Helm
• Yann Riou Head of computing and electronics
• Bruno Jeanjean N° 1
• Thomas Coville Helm

Another newcomer aboard Groupama 3 is Pierre Pennec. Selected to race in the Tornado category in the Olympic Games in Sydney, Pierre has already adopted the role of tactician aboard Groupama 2 during the ORMA Grands Prix in 2005. This time around the young racer will be trialling in the role of helm in a bid to form part of Franck Cammas' crew during the next attempt at conquering the Jules Verne Trophy: "It's a new challenge for me to head offshore. I've got a lot to learn both from a human and a technical aspect. However, I do like this very professional and also very endearing team. Added to that, it's a very rich and very varied course to Istanbul. We're going to have to constantly adapt to the highly variable conditions".

As regards weather, the start promises to be quick with downwind conditions as far as Gibraltar. After that it will be a different story, particularly in the Mediterranean. Whatever the situation though you can rest assured that Groupama 3 will be in `race' mode: "I've known Franck for years as we've often sailed against each other in the trimaran category. I know that he's got tremendous drive and I also know the quality of the organisation behind Groupama team. We've already begun to exchange ideas since my return from my solo round the world aboard Sodebo. It's really nice to be able to collaborate with such an open team. You can see further evidence of that with the arrival of Stan Honey who's a real legend amongst the Anglo-Saxons" concludes Thomas Coville.

Suffice to say that with such a crew, Groupama 3 will be driven hard and, hopefully smoothly!

Ericsson 3 first to round Cape Horn

[Source: Volvo Ocean Race] Magnus Olsson and his team of Nordic sailors onboard Ericsson 3 rounded the legendary Cape Horn at 1222 GMT today in pole position and in daylight, gaining maximum points at the scoring gate.

Ericsson 4 (Torben Grael/BRA) will be the next boat to round the Cape, which marks the border between the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans. At the time of Ericsson 3’s rounding, Ericsson 4 was 36 miles astern, a gap that has now closed to 18nm.

“It looks like the Ericsson 3 boys have managed to hold us off – and fair play to them – they played a good move early after the last scoring gate, a move which none of the rest of us were brave enough to play,” said Ericsson 4’s MCM Guy Salter.

For every sailor, the achievement of rounding this notorious Cape, which is the tip of one small island with a lighthouse, situated in one of the most remote areas in the world, is never diminished, no matter how many times they do it.

Spain’s Guillermo Altadill, who has rounded the Cape six times, describes the experience:

“I can only imagine it must be similar to a marathon runner on arrival at the stadium, with only 400 metres left after his epic 26 miles, to look up and see the public awaiting him. Except that, on that rock there is no public. And when you are lucky enough to get close enough, and on a clear day, you look up at that black rock with its lighthouse and all the legends that surround it, and it makes you think that whatever happens from that moment onwards, you have fulfilled your objective: to arrive in one piece.”

For Ericsson 3, Cape Horn almost lived up to its notorious reputation, producing 25 knot winds and massive seas, but Ericsson 4 is expecting full storm conditions when they round next in line. The crew is looking forward to it.

“There has been a chat about rights earned for passing the Horn: earrings, feet on the table at meal times, and tattoos of tall ships under full sail,” says Salter in anticipation.

All Ericsson 3 has to do now is to turn north and keep the fleet at bay. No easy task, when the skipper of the chasing Ericsson 4, Torben Grael, is one the golden boys in Olympic sailing and close quarter, tactical racing is what he excels at. They now face a long battle of over 2,000 nm to the finish in Rio.

Cape Horn Scoring Gate
(boat/rounding time/gate points)

Ericsson 3: 1222 GMT: 4 points

Distance to Cape Horn at 1222 GMT
Ericsson 4 - 36.91nm
PUMA - 141.21 nm
Green Dragon - 229.49 nm
Telefónica Blue- 766.86 nm

Leg Five Day 32: 1300 GMT Volvo Ocean Race Positions
(boat name/country/skipper/nationality/distance to finish)

Ericsson 3 SWE (Magnus Olsson/SWE) DTF 2264 nm
Ericsson 4 SWE (Torben Grael/BRA) +18
PUMA Racing Team USA (Ken Read/USA) +119
Green Dragon IRL/CHI (Ian Walker/GBR) +210
Telefónica Blue ESP (Bouwe Bekking/NED) +746