Damian Foxall (IRL), one of the biggest names in offshore sailing, is joining Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier/FRA) for the forthcoming treacherous Leg 5 (full story see below).

– Ireland’s top sailor joins Dongfeng Race Team for Leg 5

– Navigator Bidégorry returns to Chinese boat’s crew

AUCKLAND, New Zealand, March 5 – Damian Foxall (IRL), one of the biggest names in offshore sailing, is joining Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier/FRA) for the forthcoming treacherous Leg 5.

Caudrelier and Foxall were on the Groupama boat that won the 2011-12 edition. The Irishman was the natural choice when Dongfeng’s skipper looked for an experienced sailor to bolster his line-up for the 6,776-nautical mile (nm) stage from Auckland to Itajaí, Brazil, through the Southern Ocean and round Cape Horn.

Foxall, who has competed in four previous Volvo Ocean Races, arrived in Auckland fresh from victory in the EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour (SATT), sailing with the renowned French sailor, Sidney Gavignet.

He said on Thursday that he was thrilled to link up again with Caudrelier, who has guided his China-backed team to joint top of the current race standings.

“I am delighted to be back ‘in the saddle’. This will be the 10th round-the-world event that I will be involved in and my eighth rounding of Cape Horn,” he said.

“It is a privilege to have the opportunity to join Charles and the boys onboard Dongfeng who have been doing such an exemplary job. My role is to fit in as seamlessly as possible and to bring the benefit of a fresh person to the team.

“It is hard to overstate the difficulty of the Volvo Ocean Race for the sailors and teams, the longest sporting event in any sport, and it is exactly this, the duration, that makes it so hard. A planned rotation of the crew at key times has become a crucial part of any successful team’s strategy.”

Caudrelier agrees. “This leg is going to be a tough, freezing cold, with big seas and strong winds – only the toughest sailors can endure it,” he said.

Foxall could not be joining the race at a more challenging time. The first three boats finished the 5,264nm Leg 4 within just over eight minutes of each other after 20 days at sea with MAPFRE (Xabi Fernández/ESP) becoming the fourth team to win a leg.

Dongfeng Race Team won the second leg into their home port of Sanya from Abu Dhabi in January.

Foxall will replace Thomas Rouxel (FRA) on this leg, continuing the crew rotation programme set by Caudrelier to ensure his eight-man crew are fighting fit and bringing fresh energy into the team.

Navigator, Pascal Bidégorry (FRA), is back and will undoubtedly find the Southern Ocean leg less painful than being rested on land as he was for Leg 4. Caudrelier has yet to confirm which of his Chinese sailors will sail in the forthcoming stage.

The crew will be announced next week for the leg, which sets off on Sunday, March 15.

Damian Foxall’s four Volvo Ocean Race appearances

2001-02 (Tyco)

2005-06 (Ericsson)

2008-09 (Green Dragon)

2011-12 (Groupama sailing team)

via Damian’s back!| Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015.

TP52 Launchings

Training begins soon for TP52 Super Series teams.

A rare picture from the most private of new TP teams reveals the cleanest of decks nearing completion.  The design looks similar to last generation boats but a little more compact, possibly as designers refine the cockpit volume measurements.  The foredeck hatch also looks smaller than expected as driven spinnaker drops, when executed perfectly, don’t require anything bigger.  An unprecedented 9 new boats are in build at this time, with launchings over the next few weeks.

Spinlock has been chosen by all teams to supply on deck and under deck rope holding solutions. The Spinlock product offering the best overall package of proven reliability, durability, holding power, fast release, low weight and compactness. It is now very common for teams to independently test equipment as part of the rigorous selection processes to gain every possible advantage and ensure all criteria met.  We will soon reveal 3 more Spinlock developments embraced by worlds top yacht racers, in particular in the TP52 fleet.

via .

The Volvo Ocean Race launches a new young sailor award in a major sailing competition in the Gulf. It’s aimed at attracting a fresh generation of offshore sailors, following champions like Damien Foxall (pictured – full story below).

– Gulf race offers opportunity to find new talent

– Omani and British under-30s win first rookies prizes

AUCKLAND, New Zealand, March 3 – The Volvo Ocean Race has launched a new award for young sailors in a major competition in the Gulf, aimed at attracting a fresh generation of sailors into offshore sailing to follow champions like Damien Foxall (pictured).

The Race has introduced the Volvo Ocean Race Rookie Award for the two best under-30 sailors competing in the EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour (SATT), which was concluded over the weekend.

The event, contested over a 760-nautical mile (nm) course in the Gulf of Arabia, was first held in 2011 by Oman Sail. Since then, many top-level competitors in the event have been drawn from the ranks of past and present Volvo Ocean Race sailors, including the 2015 winners, Damian Foxall (IRL) and Sidney Gavignet (FRA).

It was the second year running Gavignet’s crew won.

The first victors of the Volvo Ocean Race Rookie Award were Team Renaissance Omani sailor, Ali Al Balushi, and the British sailor from the University of Plymouth team, Richard Mason.

Their prize is a trip to Newport, Rhode Island, to see the Volvo Ocean Race fleet after it completes the sixth leg of the current 12th edition from Itajaí, Brazil.

A panel of judges comprising George Catsiapis, CEO EFG Private Bank, Knut Frostad CEO, Volvo Ocean Race, and Gilles Chiorri, EFG SATT Race Director, picked out Al Balushi and Mason as the winners after they were nominated by their skippers in the EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour (SATT).

“We are thrilled that SATT has attracted recognition from the Volvo Ocean Race as being a valuable feeder race for young offshore sailors and we look forward to working closely together to promote the sport of sailing among young local and regional audiences,” said David Graham, CEO of organisers, Oman Sail.

Frostad added: “We are delighted to launch this award since the Volvo Ocean Race works hard to promote the development of young offshore sailors and also fully supports the initiatives and programmes that are being launched by emerging nations in the sport of sailing.”

Overall winners of the SATT were EFG Bank, Monaco, led by Gavignet, who has competed in four Volvo Ocean Races.

A course change, from east to west, resulted in 14 days of testing upwind racing on the six-leg course from Oman to Bahrain.

The fleet included 11 pro-am race teams with crews from 21 different countries, including GAC powered by Dongfeng, with three ‘resting’ sailors from Dongfeng Race Team taking part: Cheng Ying Kit (English name ‘Kit’), Liu Ming (‘Leo’) and Kong Chencheng (‘Kong’). They finished eighth.

via Volvo Ocean Race launches new young sailor award| Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015.

AC World Series comes to Southsea

02 Mar 2015

Sir Ben Ainslie sailing his foiling AC45 past the Royal Yacht Squadron – photo: Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images

AMERICA’S CUP: The America’s Cup will return to race on UK waters this summer when the first AC World Series comes out to play off Southsea Common from July 23 to 26 this year.

The entertainment will start on Thursday 23 July with an opening ceremony and a parade of sail. This will be your first glimpse of the competing teams and the boats out on the water.

After the parade there will be entertainment in the purpose built “Great Waterfront Festival” site and Race Village Area.

Practice racing will follow on Friday 24 July. All competing teams will be out testing the waters and familiarising themselves with the race course.

Racing will take place literally right next to Portsmouth’s extensive shoreline, promising great views to spectators and fans.

Saturday 25 July and Sunday 26 July will both be race days culminating in the ‘Super Sunday’ racing showdown.

A chance to see the teams battle it out on the water, collecting points that will determine rankings in the lead up to the America’s Cup in 2017.

The blurb goes on to say crowds of ‘up to 500,000 people are expected over the four days’, so the always hard pressed A32 could be a nightmare if you’re heading for the Gosport area.

But it looks as if the racing will take place out towards Southsea Castle, which means it might be better to head into Portsmouth and follow signs from there.

An Adult Fanzone single ticket for the first day of racing will cost £48.50. A Four Day Adult Fanzone Pass with grandstand seat will cost £73.50.

There is a ticket limit of nine per person for this event, it says here… But Fanzone tickets for groups of 10 or more are available from Ticketmaster Groups on 0844 844 2121.

This is likely to be an enormous event for the area, so be prepared for some traffic to going the same way you are…

via Boating Business – AC World Series comes to Southsea.

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Volvo Ocean Race supports EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour with launch of Rookie Award for top two under 30 sailorsSaturday, 28 February 2015The Volvo Ocean Race has recognised EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour (SATT) as a leading development race for young offshore sailors by launching a Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) Rookie Award for the two best under 30 sailors competing in the event.Since 2011 when Oman Sail first launched its 760nm endurance race around the Gulf of Arabia, competitors have been drawn from the ranks of past and present Volvo Ocean Race crew and 2015 is no exception with past winners Damian Foxall (IRL) and Sidney Gavignet (FRA) currently at the front of the EFG SATT fleet as they head towards the finish in Bahrain. Three of the GAC powered by Dongfeng Race Team from China, namely Cheng Ying Kit, Liu Ming and King Chencheng are using EFG SATT as training for the next VOR which for any offshore sailor, represents the pinnacle of a career due to the formidable challenges set across the 27,000 nm route through the Atlantic, Indian, Southern and Pacific Oceans plus 10 inshore races staged at each stopover. Every Volvo Ocean Race team must have at least one crew member under the age of 30 but gaining racing experience to earn qualification is no easy matter and ambitious young sailors are constantly seeking opportunities to test their endurance, technical and strategic skills in events that replicate the VOR inshore-offshore model, such as EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour where 50% of all the crewmembers are aged under 30. The new Volvo Ocean Race Rookie Award was announced at the prize-giving for the inshore racing in Doha.“We are thrilled that EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour has attracted this recognition from the Volvo Ocean Race as being a valuable feeder event for young offshore sailors and we look forward to working closely together to promote the sport of sailing among young local and regional audiences,” said David Graham, CEO of Oman Sail. The Volvo Ocean Race will offer an economy return trip to Newport, accommodation and hospitality for the full stopover race weekend and pro-am day to the two top EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour Under 30 sailors, who will be nominated by their skippers and adjudged by a panel comprising George Catsiapis, CEO EFG Private Bank, Knut Frostad CEO, Volvo Ocean Race and Gilles Chiorri, EFG SATT Race Director. They will be announced at the prize giving in Bahrain at 16:30 local time on Saturday 28 February.“We are delighted to launch this award since the Volvo Ocean Race works hard to promote the development of young offshore sailors and also fully supports the initiatives and programmes that are being launched by emerging nations in the sport of sailing,” said Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad.

via BYM Sailing & Sports News.

MAPFRE’s stand-in skipper Xabi Fernández was savouring a memorable Leg 4 triumph in the Volvo Ocean Race on Sunday, but his stint in charge will come to a halt for the next stage through the Southern Ocean (full story below).

–  Xabi’s successful spell in charge ends – for now

–  Skippers review thrilling Leg 4

– Listen here for the full audio of Sunday’s press conference

AUCKLAND, New Zealand, February 28 – MAPFRE’s stand-in skipper Xabi Fernández (ESP), was savouring a memorable Leg 4 triumph in the Volvo Ocean Race on Sunday, but his stint in charge will come to a halt for the next stage through the Southern Ocean.

The 38-year-old Basque took over from his long-term partner and best friend, Iker Martínez, for the last two legs while the latter concentrated on his 2016 Rio Olympics preparations.

Xabi, for so long the right-hand man of his illustrious partner, has clearly not been daunted by the challenge, guiding the Spanish crew to fourth in Leg 3 and then following up with a paper-thin victory on Saturday night on the 5,264-nautical mile (nm) stage from Sanya to Auckland.

He told a press conference on Sunday morning that, despite his success, normal service on board MAPFRE would be resumed when the fleet sets sail for Itajaí on March 15 for the toughest of all nine stages, Leg 5 through the Southern Ocean.

“Iker is coming back,” Xabi told reporters. “He’s flying out on the 6th (March). He’s going to be with us on the next leg, which was always the plan.

“I am especially looking forward to him coming back. We are already a very strong team with Jean-Luc (Nélias, the navigator) and the rest, but we’ll be stronger with Iker in again, for sure.” So will he be back for the rest of the race now?

“It depends a lot on how things are going. He has some commitments, of course. For sure, he’ll be doing the next leg and for sure he’ll be doing the cross-Atlantic leg (from Newport).

“But there’s a question mark for the leg from Itajaí to Newport.”

The six skippers who arrived in Auckland harbour within seven hours of each other in the small hours of Sunday morning, local time, looked remarkably fresh after snatching very little sleep before a press conference attended by the knowledgeable New Zealand sailing media.

Ian Walker (GBR), skipper of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, had every reason to look buoyant, despite being pipped into second place by four minutes 25 seconds.

Their second successive runners-up spot, however, has given them the overall race lead over Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier/FRA), who they beat by under four minutes.

Both have eight points but Walker’s men have the advantage thanks to their superior record in the in-port race series where they lead after four races.

Walker outlined a clear, pre-race strategy in October: Finish on the podium in every leg and the chances are you will end up on top come the end of the race in Gothenburg, Sweden, on June 27.

So far, he has carried out that plan to perfection with, successively, first, third, second and second places, but he conceded: “The difference between the teams is getting less and less, but our strategy is consistency. However, it if it becomes a two-horse race, it could be the wrong strategy.”

Caudrelier, without wishing to slight Team Alvimedica (Charlie Enright/USA) who won the first in-port race in Alicante back in October, has identified that all crews are taking the inshore series increasingly seriously since it could well break ties by the end of the event.

For Enright, it was another leg of learnings tinged with slight disappointment that his U.S./Turkish-backed boat could not build on their third-placed podium finish in the last leg in Sanya.

“Nobody goes into a leg hoping for fourth place,” he summed up succinctly. “We’ve still got work to do on our boat speed.”

Bouwe Bekking and his team on board Team Brunel are still very much in the hunt for the overall title in third place on 12 points, but the Dutchman was typically forthright in his conclusion of feelings on board the boat following their second fifth place in a row, having triumphed on Leg 2 to Abu Dhabi.

“We feel gutted, not only myself, but everybody on the team,” he told reporters. “We made one mistake – and we paid for it. We had some sickness on board, but that was no excuse.”

For Team SCA (Sam Davies/GBR), it is a familiar story of gradual, but constant improvement, despite again finishing at the end of the fleet.

“Results haven’t changed, but we’re improving. We’re almost in contact with the rest of the fleet. We’re learning as we sail next to them,” she said.

She, her crew and the rest of the fleet will now enjoy some well-earned rest in New Zealand’s sailing-mad and most populous city before the action resumes on March 14 for The New Zealand Herald In-Port Race.

The departure for Itajaí, a leg of some 6,776nm, begins 24 hours later on March 15. It is the longest leg of the race and, the skippers agreed, the one that could well point to the eventual destination of the trophy in the race’s 12th edition.

via Back to you, Iker| Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015.

MAPFRE (Xabi Fernández/ESP) emerged victorious despite a pair of major setbacks in Leg 4 following one of the tightest-fought finishes in Volvo Ocean Race history on Saturday night (full story below).

–  Eight minutes divides top three after 20 days of sailing

– Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing go top, just ahead of Caudrelier’s Dongfeng

AUCKLAND, New Zealand, February 27 – MAPFRE (Xabi Fernández/ESP) emerged victorious despite a pair of major setbacks in Leg 4 following one of the tightest-fought finishes in Volvo Ocean Race history on Saturday night.

The victory gives the 2014-15 edition its fourth winner in four legs following successes for Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ian Walker/GBR), Team Brunel (Bouwe Bekking/NED), and Dongfeng Race Team (Charles Caudrelier/FRA).

All those wins in the first three stages have been hard-fought but none more so than this latest leg win for the Spanish boat, claimed at 2131 local time/0931 UTC after 5,264 nautical miles (nm) and 20 days, two hours, 31 minutes and 20 seconds of sailing from Sanya, China to Auckland.

Stand-in skipper Xabi Fernández could not have chosen a better stage to guide his crew to victory with just four minutes 25 seconds to spare from Walker’s men, who had the consolation of becoming overall leaders thanks to a better in-port race series record than Dongfeng Race Team.

“We’re super happy to be here, and of course, it was a very tough leg,” said Xabi. “We had a very hard last day especially, but we’re very happy to be here.

“We have improved a lot over the last two legs. We have a very good team and I hope we can now show to the world what we can do and keep doing it like this.”

Auckland is known as the ‘City of Sails’ and the locals came out in their tens of thousands both on and off the water, fresh from cheering their cricket team to victory over Australia in the World Cup earlier in the day.

For so much of a leg which started in Sanya on February 8, MAPFRE had looked the most unlikely of winners.

They lost full communications for three days when a problem emerged with their antennae, which prevented them from receiving full weather data to help them plot the optimum course.

This, with the help of the Race HQ technology staff plus partners Cobham, was eventually fixed, but they also suffered a major injury problem on board when under-30 crew member Guillermo ‘Wily’ Altadill (ESP) badly hurt his hand.

It was put in a splint and Altadill, 22, will see a doctor on Sunday to discover if he has broken it.

“I’m going to the doctors in the morning – after the party,” he said, the pain dulled by the euphoria of victory.

Walker, meanwhile, will be satisfied with his second runners-up spot in a row, and a fourth podium place. His crew skirmished with MAPFRE all day on Saturday, but could not quite overhaul the Spanish crew despite reducing the deficit to within 1nm at times.

Equally, they narrowly staved off third-placed Dongfeng Race Team by less than four minutes.

Team Alvimedica (Charlie Enright/USA) claimed fourth, just under 1hr 20mins behind Dongfeng, with Team Brunel and Team SCA (Sam Davies/GBR) bringing up the rear in ever lighter winds.

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via Xabi delivers memorable Leg 4 win| Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015.

POSTED BY J/BOATS ED AT 2:30 PM LABELS: FLORIDA, J111, KEY WEST, OCEAN, OFFSHORE, ONE-DESIGN, RACING, SAILBOAT, SAILINGNewer Post Older Post HomeBLOG ARCHIVE▼  2015 (70)▼  February (44)Kath Robinson- DIYC’s First Woman Commodore- Inter…What We’ve Learned From Racing Our J/70Women J/24’s Steal the Show!Spanish J/80 Teams Prep For WorldsGorgeous St Petersburg NOOD Regatta!Green Flash @ J/70 North Americans!RORC Caribbean 600 PreviewSCYA Midwinters PreviewJ/27 Midwinters PreviewJ/24 Midwinters PreviewJ/70s- The Winner’s Edge: Interview with Carlo Alb…An Enchanting Cruise on Montego Bay Race!J/88s- Sailing Fast @ Key West- Winner’s Tips & Tr…Dazzling Quantum J/70 Winter Series FinaleJ/111s- Practice Like You RaceHerman Crowned Chilean J/70 ChampionMcKinnon Starts Paralympic Sailing CampaignSAILING Champions League Growing Dramatically!New England Boat Show Time!Volvo Ocean Race- The Charlie Enright UpdateLongest J/70 delivery yet?The 25th Australian Women’s Keelboat RegattaNew England Boat Show!Gorgeous Sailing @ GrenadaFresh to Frightening 3BF Conditions? Not!J/111 JOUST Tops Festival of SailsJ/88s Planing Assault on Chicago-Mac Race!Germany’s Lehman J/70 Primo Cup Winner!Quantum J/70 Winter Series III PreviewMcKee’s Key West Minute- Jonathan McKee Sailing J/…Wicked Good Sailing- Forrest Williams on Sailing J…J/70s Loving “Australia Day”J/70 Primo Cup PreviewCream Rising In Barbados- J/24s Jamin Bro!Gannon Troutman- Key West’s Youngest Sailor Ever??…J/70 Boat Speed: Tune & Trim To Win Discussion @ K…Sydney-Based J/70s Sail ASBA NationalsJ’s Reaching to Key WestGermans Top J/70 Monaco Act 3Key West Sailor InterviewsJ/Teams Love Key West!Key West Musings- Dave Reed Sailing J/70sUSA J/70 Premiere Sailing League LaunchesThe West Coast’s Wackiest Race?!►  January (26)►  2014 (660)►  2013 (624)►  2012 (594)►  2011 (575)►  2010 (507)►  2009 (207)►  2008 (56)►  2007 (78)►  2006 (34)

via J/News Articles: Wicked Good Sailing- Forrest Williams on Sailing J/111s @ Key West.

Up and coming 49er sailors Rory and Neil Hunter are the latest recipients of the Marlow Ropes Award, which will give the Scottish brothers free rope for a year after recently being selected to join the British Sailing Team Podium Potential Squad.The Marlow Ropes Award was introduced in 2002 with the aim of rewarding Britain’s most promising young sailors for their determination, focus and talent.The sailing siblings from Lamlash on the Isle of Arran, Scotland, have spent the last three months training alongside the Podium Potential Squad and given their 49er potential and recent performances the brothers earned selection to the British Team in January.“We were both absolutely delighted to have won the Marlow Ropes Award only days after our selection for the Podium Potential Squad,” said 17-year-old helm Rory.“We feel we have won the award from the results we have gained over the past season and from displaying a high amount of dedication and commitment during our time training alongside the Podium Potential Squad.“The award will be a huge benefit to our campaign over the next season as we will be able to fit our boat out with top quality rope. In the 49er class, halyards and control lines come under high loads in the windier conditions, making top quality rope absolutely key to ensure a successful day racing with no breakages.”Over the past 18 months the duo have recorded some impressive results including the 49er National Championship title in August, finishing second overall at the RYA National Ranking Series in November and their season highlight coming at the ISAF Santander World Championships where they posted 36th overall and 11th in the Silver fleet.The 19-year-old Neil added: “We feel that the key ingredient to our results over the past year has been mainly a lot of hard work!  We’ve spent a lot of time sailing and just learning as much as possible.  The learning curve is so steep, especially in a class like the 49er.”“Over the next 12 months our main goal is a top five at the Youth Worlds, that’s our target event this year. We’ve got a lot of sailing planned between now and then, with events throughout Europe and we’re going to Miami later this week. The Marlow award entitles the brothers to free Marlow rope for a year, which Rory says will be invaluable as they prepare for their inaugural season as British Sailing Team members.“The award will help us massively. In a high performance boat like a 49er having the best kit is crucial for us to achieve our goals. With Marlow Ropes we can be sure that we are using the best rope available so it’s just one less thing for us to worry about!  It will be a massive boost to our campaign.”Barrie Edgington, British Sailing Team Podium Potential Squad Manager, commented: “Rory and Neil are rare examples of sailors who have taken a slightly more independent tack to campaigning and making the case for support from the World Class Programme. “In doing so their professional approach combined with achieving measurable international and national results has got them noticed and rewarded both by officially joining the British Sailing Team and being nominated for the prestigious Marlow Ropes Award. – “If they keep up the level of commitment to their 49er sailing and goals, I am sure they will continue to excel and achieve higher things.”

via The News.