News

Scoring a 1/5 yesterday on the last day of qualifying, Tom Slingsby AUS leads all comers before the decisive final phase at the Laser Worlds in Hayling Island GBR, where the fleets are now split into gold, silver and bronze. On a sparkling summer day, moderate easterlies from 8-11 kn that were accompanied by decent swell, the downhillers in the 159-boat fleet clearly were in their element. Confessing to “schoolboy errors,” as he called his mistakes, Olympic and defending world champion Paul Goodison GBR finally bagged a double-digit score in Race 7. Yet he sits in second, 14 points adrift of Slingsby and two ahead of the two top Kiwis (there are two more in the top eight), Michael Bullot NZL and Andrew Maloney NZL. In 5th the man of the day, Pavlos Kontides CYP, who makes his home in nearby Southampton GBR as a student, rolled two firsts yesterday.
After a layday, the Junior World Championships resumes qualifying with two more races before their four-race finals commence Saturday. In the lead here is Francesco Marrai ITA. The report, all results and the video channel.

Three more qualification races were sailed off Istanbul yesterday in a fresh breeze of up to 20 kn .With the discard result coming into effect, there were major changes on top of the rankings. In the 470 women, Giulia Conti/Giovanna Michol ITA took the lead with two bullets. Emmanuelle Rol/Hélène Defrance FRA follow on rank 2, Petitjean/Douroux FRA are 3rd.
Masterfully the new leaders in the 470 men: With an OCS and 3 bullets, Luke Patience/Stuart Bithell GBR are now on top ahead of Fantela/Marencic CRO and Kliger/Sela ISR.
The event-website and the report.

After another two windy races, the top five at the Finn Gold Cup in San Francisco maintain their relative positions, but leader Ed Wright GBR who scored 2/5 and Rafa Trujillo ESP who does not go quietly and scored 1/2, increased their points cushion over the rest of the fleet in the [url=wxw.yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=342 overall standings[/url]. Giles Scott GBR hangs onto third place after placing 3/6, with Thomas Le Breton FRA and Zach Railey USA not far off. Perhaps the most exciting race was Race 8 with a nasty chop and 22 knots of breeze blasting down Berkeley Circle. It ended in a photo finish when Daniel Birgmark SWE pipped defending champion Jonas Høgh Christensen in the post for the win. Looking beyond Wright’s and Scott’s podium aspirations it should be noted that there are two more Brits in the Top 10, with Andrew Mills in 8th and Mark Andrews in 9th.

A more stable breeze between 10 and 18 knots has shuffled the standings in favor of the specialists for breezier conditions. After the two races in the men’s gold fleet finals at the RS:X Worlds in Kerteminde DEN, Dorian van Rijsselberge NED maintains a two-point lead over Piotr Myszka POL who in turn has a two-point advantage over Nimrod Mashiah ISR. In the first race van Rijsselberge came back from 43rd to finish 12th and followed up with a bullet in the next contest, his fourth of the event. The silver fleet is led by Albert Lopes de Carvalho BRA.
In the women’s event, 40-year-old Alessandra Sensini ITA// is enjoying another renaissance here after a 3/1 day and holds a four-point lead over Lee-el Korzits ISR and Blanca Manchon ESP, who all took advantage of the previous frontrunners’ Maja Dziarnowska POL, Charline Picon, FRA or Sasa Sun CHN scoring high yesterday.
Kate Ellingham NZL leads the silver fleet. The report and all results, plus the tracking page.

Two Brits and two French are lodged in the top five after two days of sailing at the St. Mortitz Match Race SUI. Damien Iehl FRA was the aggressor yesterday, racking up five successive victories. His victims included Wednesday’s leader Adam Minoprio NZL and AC skipper Francdesco Bruni ITA. As the Maloja wind rushed in, Iehl exhibited some deft moves, leading Minoprio around mark one by three lengths and eventually extending his lead all the way to the finish. Next on his list was Torvar Mirsky AUS who gained the initial advantage, but Iehl played the shifts well, building an insurmountable lead at the first mark. Meanwhile, Ian Williams GBR (7-1) showed little concern after sweeping his races of the day to defend the overall lead, one point ahead of Ben Ainslie GBR (6-2) and Mathieu Richard FRA (6-2). These three already are qualified for the quarterfinals. The next six led by Minoprio (5-3) and Iehl (5-4) are in the hunt for the remaining four places. The report with all results, the gallery and the videos.

Sun and a moderate seabreeze yesterday at the Tuscany Coast for the races nbr 4-6. The Italian teams - mostly with local professionals like Vasco Vascotto or Flavio Favini calling tactics - could extend their leading positions with five of them on top of the rankings. Franco Solerio ITA leads 2 pts ahead of Enrico Mattia ITA. The X-35-results.
In the X-41 Europeans, sailed back-to-back, Andrea Tedesco ITA remains on top. The rankings.

When there’s wind it’s Slingsby time. The easterlies got into the low to mid-teens, which made for more physical sailing yesterday at the Laser Worlds in Hayling Island GBR. In these conditions Tom Slingsby AUS moved to the top of the overall standings in the senior division, with a score line that shows three bullets in six starts. Sailing extremely smooth and fluid downwind portions, Slingsby served notice that he intends to add world title No. 3 to his trophy case. But then there’s also Paul Goodison GBR, the reigning Olympic and World Champion, who will have a say in this matter. Goody might be in 3rd overall, but is tied on points with Josh Junior NZL who holds 2nd at the moment as one of four Kiwis in the top eight. Unlike most others, Goodison has yet to sail a stinker, although he had to work hard to avoid his first double-digit score yesterday after getting buried deep in the second race. He put on a clinic to salvage a 7th, keeping his title defense on target with all Top-10 finishes.
In the Junior World Championships Francesco Marrai ITA regained his overall lead after a 5th and a 3rd, two points ahead of Thorbjoern Scheirup DEN and five clear of Keerati Bualong THA. The report and the video summary.

Discard time at the Finn Gold Cup in San Francisco where another two races were added in glorious sunshine, starting in mellow breeze that grew more robust during the afternoon. Continuing where he left off on Tuesday, Ed Wright GBR scored another bullet and later added a 3rd place to assume the top spot of the standings with a cozy 13-point cushion. In 2nd Rafa Trujillo ESP, who rebounded from a sub-par Day 2 just ahead of the next Brit Giles Scott. Wright and Trujillo now account for five bullets in those six races. Thomas Le Breton FRA and Zach Railey USA, who held 1st and 2nd Tuesday, slipped off the podium despite consistent sailing but without bullets yet. However, they are close, at least to silver and bronze, or to pounce on the moment when Ed Wright decides to become a mere mortal again. The official report and the Finn YouTube channel with some iPhone videos from yesterday’s races.

It was a crazy, confusing day at the 2010 Open 470 European Championships in Istanbul, yet somehow Gideon Kliger/Eran Sela ISR emerged from their side of the men’s qualifying with two 1st places. The Israeli team made sense of the light, patchy and shifty conditions that left most of the 92 teams quite bewildered. The only team that came close to matching the Israelis’ consistency were the defending European Champions Sime Fantela/Igor Marenic CRO, who scored two 2nd places on the other side of the qualifying split. In 3rd Yurii Zhuralov/Pavlo Matsuyev UKR.
On the women’s side Emmanuelle Rol/Helene Defrance FRA scored 1/3 for the early lead, followed by Camille Lecointre/Mathilde Geron FRA in 2nd and Henriette Koch/Lene Sommer DEN in 3rd. The report and the complete results, the gallery, plus the tracking page.

The opening day of racing at the St. Moritz Match Race dawned bright but cold, with very little wind but intense sailing. After five flights the lead belongs to Adam Minoprio NZL with a 4-1score tied with Ian Williams GBR and Björn Hansen SWE. In fourth is Ben Ainslie GBR at 3-2, the same score as Mathieu Richard FRA. The last race, between Richard and Williams, was also the closest. With 15 seconds to go the French skipper looked much too early, yet he found enough wriggle room to make a perfect start, much to the surprise of the spectator crowds. He led throughout the race by the tightest of margins - at the finish just one meter separated the two boats. The report, the results and the gallery

No sailing at the RS:X World Championships in Kerteminde on layday, but behind the scenes the talk was about securing the future of the class in prepatration for the annual meeting. the talk was about finding a qualified organizer for the 2012 Worlds and the new Danish system to bring the racing to the masses, called ‘Sailstream – You Are the Producer’. It combines the TracTrac tracking system with several channels of video, including one with commentary on the racing streamed live from the water via wireless broadband network.
Of greater concern is the ISAF Olympic Commission and the requirements to keep sailing Olympic, byond keeping the RS:X as the s]windsurfing equipment. This includes a professionally managed class Web site and social media. Another objective is increasing more female competitors to a share of at least 40 percent or even half of the total RS:X fleet and getting boards to ISAF Member National Authorities in as many countries as possible to spread the class globally. Read on.
Racing in the gold and silver fleets is due to get underway today at 1100 local (0900 GMT). 8-10 knots from the ENE is forecast. Dorian Van Rjisselberge NED and Maja Dziarnowska POL are the current overall leaders. The standings and the event site.

US Sailing’s weekend weather forecast talks about the track of hurricane Earl, which is forecast to parallel the US East Coast and create disruptions and quite a bit of chop. It’ll pass close by Cape Hatteras and Outer Banks early Friday as a Category 3 storm. It'll get close to Cape Cod and the Outer Islands as it weakens to a Cat. 2 storm, then it'll move on to the Canadian Maritimes by Saturday, followed by fair weather but rough waters from residual swells. See NOAA’s live tracking page and the story about preparing for New England hurricanes (PDF).

The X-35 Worlds began yesterday with 3 races off Scarlino ITA with the Italians dominating the fleet with 4 teams on top, but the points' gaps are still very small. Gianluca Vigano ITA leads in the results (PDF).
In the X-41 Europeans, sailed at the same time, M.Tedesco ITA is clearly ahead followed by the former Finn European Champion Paolo Semararo ITA. The report.

Part 2 of the 'Windsurfing Movies' full of action follows the Wave specialists searching for the wildest beaches. The website with an online order link. Here some video vrailers.

Two more difficult qualifying heats were sailed yesterday at the Laser World Championships in postcard weather and shifty light southeasterlies off Hayling Island, England. The objective was avoiding a fat score early on that almost certainly will come back to haunt the sailors later in the event. But in the fickle and shifty breeze this was a delicate, if not impossible undertaking. When the points were tallied and the discard was taken out, Luka Radelic CRO had claimed the lead in the senior division, ahead of Josh Junior NZL and first-day leader Michael Bullot NZL. Paul Goodison GBR might have slipped to 4th, but his scores (3-1-9-4) are even, just like those of Aron Lollic CRO who might only sit in 10th for the moment, but like Goodison will benefit down the road, provided he remains consistent. The surprise of the day was Malaysia’s Nik Azizan Ashraf Qaedi (129), who stands in 103rd overall with a picturesque score line of 36-46-46-1.
In the junior division, Magus Kaeldso DEN had a magnificent day with 1/2 to leapfrog to the top of the standings, replacing Monday’s leader Francesco Marrai ITA. In third the next Dane with Thorbjoern Schierup DEN. The report and the day’s video.

Two physically demanding races were sailed yesterday In a fresh up to 22 kn breeze. The man of the day with two bullets, Ed Wright GBR, advanced on the 3rd place of the cumulative rankings, only two points behind the leaders Thomas Le Breton FRA and Zach Railey USA with the same number of points. Giles Scott GBR and Gasper Vincec SLO follow closely behind. This evening, the discard result come into effect, definitely changing the positions. The report of the day, the videos and the event-website.

With six races now sailed and the discard coming into play, Dorian van Rijsselberge NED launched himself into the lead, with the final two qualification series races held off Kerteminde DEN. Van Rijsselberge dropped his black flag disqualification from race 1 and with an impressive three firsts is now five points ahead of Piotr Myszka POL and Beijing Gold medalist Tom Ashley NZL.
Two more races also in the women’s division with Maja Dziarnowska POL taking the lead after the Chinese faded a little. In 2nd, one point behind, Charline Picon FRA followed by Sun Sasa CHN and Li Ling CHN. A renaissance of sorts for four-time Olympic windsurfing medalist Alessandra Sensini ITA in 5th and elder stateswoman Jessica Crisp AUS, who posted a 3-2 for 7th overall. With the qualification series complete, tomorrow is a lay day before racing resumes on Thursday and Friday with the fleet divided into gold and silver fleets prior to the top 10 show down in Saturday’s medal races.
All results, the video and the tracking page.

The oldest sailor in the fleet is 75-year-old Gus Miller USA. He started his Finn career back in 1966 and has no intentions to give up just yet. Miller has seen the class evolve over more than four decades and has an encyclopedic knowledge of the boats and its sailors. What keeps him coming back? “For me it has opened doors for me all over the world. The boat is a special boat. It is highly evolved but it's like having a little Maserati. It's so sensitive and such a good sea boat. As a kid up until I was 38 I sailed a hundred different types of boats, including 505 and oceans racers but when I sailed a Finn it was the best boat I had ever gotten into.” See the whole video

As Tropical Storm Danielle dissipates in the North Atlantic, the East Coast of the U.S. is bracing for a brush with Hurricane Earl. Earl is now a powerful Category 4 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 135 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. A tropical storm warning is in effect for the Turks and Caicos Islands and a watch is in effect for the southeastern Bahamas.The center of Earl will continue to move away from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands this morning and move over the open Atlantic east of the Turks and Caicos. Tropical storm force winds extend as far as 200 miles. The hurricane center warns that interests from the Carolinas northward to New England should monitor the progress of Earl. Complete report in Trade Only Today.
Check out the NOAA's storm page to get a read on the predicted track of the season’s second major hurricane that looks like it will be rolling up the eastern seaboard from Florida to Newfoundland. You might find value in playing with the animations on the tracking page by Sailing Weather Service where you can zoom in over the Chesapeake or New England.

The 92 teams were condemned to enjoy a hot summer day ashore on the first day of the 470 Europeans in Istanbul TUR, as the breeze took a siesta yesterday. It also was a chance to talk about the changes the class proposes to retain the Olympic status, including laminate sails, a two-piece mast for easier transport, and new foils. The balancing act will be to make changes that improve the class without rendering thousands of legacy boats obsolete. “We may conclude that we have a really good boat in the existing 470, and that nothing needs to change,” said class president Stanislav Kassarov, “but it is important we at least try these new ideas so that we know for sure.” Get the details in the official report.

After a light dusting of snow on the hills above the lake overnight, St. Moritz sparkled in the morning sun. However, the unseasonably cold weather meant the trademark Maloja wind was AWOL, leaving the 12 teams to contend with an erratic and chilling northerly breeze during their first practice with the blu26 boats. The entry list is lead by the 2009 winner Adam Minoprio NZL and the current Tour leader Matthieu Richard FRA. Start to the Round Robin is today at 11 a.m. CEST. According to the forecast, the wind might change to the 'normal' Maloja. The preview and the Web site.

According to the announced schedule, the initial news concerning the 34th America's Cup were due by August 31st. The Press Conference has been delayed to September 13, when Russell Coutts NZL will present the details on boat, date and protocol at the BMW/Oracle base in Valencia. However, the French sailing magazine Voiles et Voiliers seems to know the details: the 34th Challenge will be sailed in 2014 in San Francisco on 72 ft catamarans with wing sails. The article in French and the official website of the 34th Cup.

A big X-Yachts happening is starting today at Scarlino / Tuscany coast in Italy. The X-35 sail their Worlds Championship with 36 teams from 9 nations and the X-41 with 15 teams/6 nations race for the European title. Moreover, all other X-Yachts are invited to this Goldcup event. See the entry list. A preview.

The strong tidal current and light and shifty breeze proved the challenges on the first day - a sunny one at that- of the 2010 Laser World Championships off Hayling Island GBR. The shifting wind, oscillating through as much as 30 degrees at times in the first race set the early test, but a big 50-degree swing early in of the second contest forced the delay of the second and third starts until the breeze settled. Michael Bullot NZL (3), runner up at last year’s World Championships posting a second and a first to grab the early lead in the senior division, one point over Paul Goodison GBR (4), the defending champ, who opened his regatta with third place and then won his second heat by a comfortable distance. Somewhat surprising third place which is currently held by Karl-Martin Rammo EST (4). Tom Slingsby AUS (9), fresh from winning the Etchells Worlds with John Bertrand in Ireland, jumped right in and won his first group race and took eighth in the second to stand in seventh overall. In the juniors, the top three are Francesco Marrai ITA (5), Lukas Feuerherdt GER (6) and Thorbjoern Schierup DEN (6). The full report and the video of the day.

A fleet of 87 Finn sailors tackled raunchy San Francisco Bay in the customary 20 –25 knots of westerly breeze for the first two races of the 2010 Gold Cup. The day belonged to Rafa Trujillo ESP who came away with a 2-1, which gives him a seven-point lead overZach Railey USA who had two fifths. In third is Giles Scott GBR tied on points with defending champion Jonas Høgh-Christensen DEN. The overall results, the event site with GPS tracking and the day’s video.

Perfect conditions on Day 2 brought a 20 kn breeze for the Olympic RS:X windsurfers who sail their 2010 World Championship in Kerteminde DEN. The men had 2 heats, while the women sailed three to make up for lost time on Sunday.
The Chinese women hadn't shown flag a lot at this year's World Cup events, but here they do. Li Ling CHN and Sun Sasa CHN have established themselves at the top of the standings as if they mean business . Lee Korzits ISR and surf-legend Alessandra Sensini ITA follow inthird and fourth. Some of the top sailors of the aging 2010 season are further back: Charline Picon FRA, tis only 11th, Marina Alabau ESP 13th, Bryony Shaw GBR 14th and Blanca Manchon ESP 15th.
The Olympic Champion Tom Ashley NZL continues to lead the men's fleet from the day's winner and fellow Kiwi Jon-Paul Tobin NZL, who's tied with Byron Kokalanis GRE and Przemyslaw Miarczyinski POL. The results and the report. All races can be viewed with GPS-tracking. During the day, some videos might become available on Youtube.

No wind, no racing and no changes in the overall standings of the Hobie 16 Worlds in Weihai CHN. After only 6 races (including the semifinals) Jerome Le Gal/Enrick Obert FRA were crowned the 2010 Hobie 16 Open World Champions. In the one-throwout series they only had one bad result, a DSQ in the last race, that was otherwise contrasted by an impressive score of 1, 2, 1,4. In second former world champion Gavin Colby/Sasha Marks AUS followed by Darren Smith/Jasmine Hill AUS and William and Lucinda Edwards RSA. Aaron Worrall/Brad Wilson AUS round out the top five. Six Oz teams in the top eight underscored the dominance of Australians in this class, who won the Women’s Youth, Masters and Grand Masters titles as well. The final report and the gallery.

Today the starting gun sounds for the first qualifying races of the 470 European Championship 2010. The entry lists shows a relatively small fleets of 56 men and 35 women. Favorites are the French teams with Pierre Leboucher/Vincent Garros FRA, in the men's fleet, and Ingrid Petitjean/Nadège Douroux FRA and Emmanuelle Rol/Hélène Defrance FRA, women, but the Brits will have a say in this as well. A preview.

The third act of the 2010 Alpine Cup wit 20 Platu-25s from 5 nations on Lake of Lucerne over the past weekend was not blessed by good sailing conditions. Rain on Saturday killed the breeze keepting the boats in the harbour and on Sunday, a very shifty and irregular 2 bft wind made racing very difficult. However, 3 heats were sailed with Thomas Laherstorfer AUT winning ahead of the tied Günther Prummer AUT and Markus Siegrist SUI. Felix Dorn GER is on the 4th place. The rankings (PDF) and the report (PDF).

It will be a glut of nonstop ocean racing this fall and winter with the Barcelona World Race and perhaps the most exciting singlehander event, the Route du Rhum from St. Malo FRA to Guadeloupe in the Caribbean, where many of the top IMOCA skippers will meet. On top of all that there' the multi-stage Velux 5 Oceans that is recycling some of the vintage 60-footers in the Eco Class.
Nine boats are set to compete in the Rhum (starting on Oct. 31) and at least ten for the Barcelona (starting Dec. 31). At the present time, some skippers are finishing their projects in order to make it to the start, while others are adding the final touches to their brand new prototypes.
Four major projects are under way at the moment. The most advanced of these belongs to Vincent Riou (PRB), whose new boat has been on the water since the spring, and Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac – Paprec 3), who recently moored up in Lorient at the end of a long delivery trip from New Zealand via the Panama canal. Meanwhile, Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) is completing a race against the clock so as to make the start of the Route du Rhum, before gearing up for the Barcelona World Race. See who is doing what.

A shallow, slow moving depression crossing western Scandinavia, made for a challenging opening day at the RS:X World Championships in Kerteminde, Denmark. Two races have now been completed for each of the 60 strong men’s fleets, but none for the women’s. Even though the afternoon race in the yellow group, sailed in very light wind, saw a major right-shift that shuffled the fleet, the top sailors are found near the top of the leader board. After two group races the lead belongs to Piotr Myszka POL, followed by Shaha Zubari ISR and Tom Ashley NZL. Byron Kokalanis GRE is n fourth followed by three other Polish sailors. More breeze is forecast for today. The event website and the gallery.

The French Volvo Open 70, ‘Groupama’, skippered by Jules Verne record holder Franck Cammas crossed the finish line at the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes GBR to claim line honors in the 2010 Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race. ‘Groupama’ completed the 1802-mile course in 5 Days 21 Hours 26 minutes and 55 seconds, smashing Dee Caffari's 2009 course record by 14 hours 3 minutes and 8 seconds. It was a triumphant finale for ‘Groupama’ in sharp contrast to the start, when they were the last boat to cross the line, after they had been damaged on their mooring. Second place, 5 h 11 min after ‘Groupama’s’ finish and also inside the old record, for ‘Teléfonica Azul’ ESP, skippered by 49er world champion Iker Martinez. They started the race like a bat out of hell, screaming down the Solent at over 25 knots, but a rigging problem meant that they were overtaken by ‘Groupama’ and they never managed to catch them. Next boat expected to finish is the IMOCA 60 ‘Artemis Ocean Racing’. The report, the tracking page and the rankings.

It blew like stink yesterday, so they had to cancel the practice race at the Laser World Championship in Hayling Island GBR. Sailors like Olympic Gold medalist Paul Goodison GBR and top-ranked US Laser sailor Clay Johnson USA reported being on or beyond the limit, fighting a 30-knot breeze and 12-foot seas. The forecast for today's races predicts lots of wind, decreasing later on. Check the updates on the event site.

The most important boat show in central and eastern Europe, the Interboot at Friederichshafen GER / Lake Constance will be open from September 18 - 26. 500 exhibitors demonstrate the newest developments of watersports in the halls and on the water. The focus of the 49th edition is a special exhibition concerning alternative and effective propulsion technologies. Highlight of the 'Green Power Days' will be Tuesday when products of this area will be demonstrated on Lake Constance as from 17 hrs. The INTERBOOT-website.

Repeating last year’s overall win in Cartagena ESP, Emirates Team New Zealand NZL hoisted the trophy for the second year in a row after a very consistent performance in all kinds of conditions, except for a DSQ in the penultimate race after they tangled with Quantum Racing USA it didn’t matter because the Kiwis came back to win the finals race in a moderate 13-knot easterly breeze to put an exclamation mark at the end of the week. In second ‘Matador’ ARG thanks to three bullets scattered throughout the regatta but also thanks to ‘TeamOrigin’s’ GBR bad luck with a broken forestay in the distance race and a botched start in the final race that forced them to restart and dropped them way back. Even so Ben Ainslie and company finished in the money only 1.5 points behind the reigning TP 52 world champions and seven ahead of Terry Hutchinson’s ‘Quantum Racing’ which had three top-three finishes but no wins. The report with the results and the videos.

Struggling with marginal conditions but successfully so, Phil Robertson NZL and his crew of Garth Ellingham, Sam Bell and James Williamson, won the 2010 Knickerbocker Cup and win an automatic entry into the Argo Gold Cup, one of the stops on the World Match Racing Tour. Taylor Canfield ISV with crew Matt Clark, Tod Reynolds and Dave Shriner, although only sixth at the Knickerbocker, won the first-ever East Coast Trifecta, that also included the CMRC Chicago Cup, and the International Match Race for the Detroit Cup. Canfield’s reward is a berth at the 2011 Congressional Cup in Long Beach, Calif., the only US Grade 1 Open match race. The details.

Be more current with Sailing News. Our mission is timely coverage of Olympic class and one design racing, which is why we publish daily (in French and German, too!), including weekends when all the sailing actually happens. Get the latest headlines on your desktop, laptop or phone from our Twitter feed www.twitter.com/sailingnews_us and stay ahead of the game.

On the penultimate day of the Hobie 16 World Championships, the finals got under way with one race only and most of the top teams in double-digit scores. Including the results of the semifinals and one discard, the lead remains in the hands of Jerome Le Gal/Enrick Obert FRA (8 pts.) who seem to be able to hold off the Austrailain armada. In second now Gavin Colby/Sasha Marks AUS (15) closely followed by Darren Smith/Jasmine Hill AUS (17) and William and Lucinda Edwards RSA (19). Aaron Worrall/Brad Wilson AUS (21) round out the top five. There are six Aussies in the top eight while the best US team remains Mike Montague/Kathy Ward (79) in 38th. The overall standings and the gallery.

The most important solo regatta of Switzerland with 100 participants, the Translemanique in its 37th edition, was lucky with the wind conditions on the Lake Geneva, when the North-Easterly filled in about at halftime of the race. Serge Patry with his Lüthi 34 got the line honours after 10 hrs 23 min and the victory in compensated time went to Michel Rotach on a Grand Surprise. With 42 boats, the Surprise were once again the largest class with Christian Toso on his 'Séchard Express' as winner. The results arrival time (PDF) by ellapsed time (PDF) and the rankings by class (PDF).

‘Groupe Edmond de Rothschild’ (Yann Guichard) FRA (167 pts) won the third event of the Xtreme Sailing Series in Kiel with a race to spare after scoring four first places and two fourth places in the six fleet races. A distant second for Mike Golding’s ‘Ecover Sailing Team’ GBR (142) followed by Paul Campbell-James on ‘The Wave Muscat UAE (128). Conditions were similar to Saturday with squalls and big gusts alternating with sunshine and decreasing wind. A port/starboard crash between ‘Red Bull Extreme Sailing’ AUT and ‘The Wave, Muscat’ UAE at the first windward mark of the third race was loud enough to spook the champagne crowd in the VIP tent. Roman Hagara’s ‘Red Bull’ was awarded a 4-point redress for sitting out the next race to get their bow patched up on the water.
After three events in the series ‘Groupe Edmond de Rothschild’ (22) leads ‘The Wave, Muscat’ (20) and ‘Ecover Sailing Team’ (19). Next stop is Trapani, Sicily Sept. 24 - 26. The report with the results and the gallery.

The dynamic weather pattern over the plains' lakes brought mostly excellent sailing condition as the first reports posted in the Sailing Switzerland section reveal. Unfortunately, the dynamic is not with all web responsibles of the clubs and classes, as a number of reports/results are still outstanding. With over 3000 visitors, is the Monday the peak day of www.sailing-news.ch and therefore an excellent showcase for clubs and classes to present their activity and venues. News have been submitted among others by the Fireballs (on time and informative as always, thank you!) racing the Walensee, the Finns and H-Boats on Lake Thoune and the Women's Matchrace off Romanshorn.

Canadians Fred Eaton and Magnus Clarke sailing ‘Canaan’, the defenders of the International C-Class Catamaran Trophy keep the trophy. In the forecast light air on Narragansett Bay they defeated the formidable challengers Glenn Ashby/James Spithill on ‘Alpha’ twice in convincing fashion yesterday to retain the title. The delta in the first race was a whopping five minutes in favor of the Canadian defenders, while in the second race they had to come back from 46 seconds down at the first mark to pass their rivals with superior downwind speed and stretch out to 48 seconds at the second windward rounding before taking the gun and a 3-1 lead. After that racing was called. The consolation round was won by ‘Invictus’ GBR with ‘Patient Lady VI’ FRA second and Orion third. The report.

Sailing legend John Bertrand AUS with his crew Andrew Palfry and Laser World champion Tom Slingsby wrapped up the 2010 Etchells World Championship title at Howth IRL yesterday with their fifth bullet in eight races and without sailing the last heat. Nearest rival Ante Razmilovic GBR sailing with Mike Wolfs and Chris Larson, suffered gear problems before the start of the eighth race, which forced them ashore for repairs. Fortunately, there was a general recall, so they hustled back in time for the re-start, but finished 19th in a fresh 20-knot northerly. It was Razmilovic’s second double-digit result, which sunk his title chances in this nine-race, one-discard series. Meanwhile Bertrand got his fifth bullet in eight races, which put him out of reach in the standings, so he retired, knowing that he won a coveted one-design class world championship to add to his Olympic bronze medal of 1976 and his America’s Cup triumph over Dennis Conner in 1983. Razmilovic added a fifth in the final race to end up with 35 points and second overall, ahead of Damien King AUS (48). The final report and the gallery.

Today is the World Championship Practice Race of the Olympic Laser Standard class on Hayling Island, where back-to-back the first Laser Standard Youth World Championship will be sailed. The wind forecasts predict rather light winds, which means that the group of favorites for the medels will be extended. 160 Standards from 57 nations and 137 Standard Juniors (up to 20 years) are on the entry lists. The largest delegations come from England (with top favorite Paul Goodison GBR), the Olympic Champion, and Germany. The previewu and the event-website.

The 2010 Finn World Championship begins today with the Practice Race on the Frisco Bay. The course will be laid out off Berkeley, in face of the Golden Gate Bridge, where the current is less than in the mouth of the Bay, but often changing direction. But a 20-30 kn can be expected everywhere in the Bay, due to the big temperature difference between the cold Pacific and the deserts on the mainland, causing a heavy seabreeze daily. 94 sailors from 32 nations participate, among them the favorites Ed Wright GBR, Ivan Klijakovic-Gaspic CRO, Gasper Vincec SLO, the big-breeze experts Pieter-Jan Postma NED and Jonas Hoegh-Christensen DEN as well as the lately improved Jonathan Lobert FRA and Thomas Le Breton FRA. The event-website.

Today the RS:X World championships start in Kerteminde on the Danish Island of Fyn with 119 men from 42 countries and 76 women from 28 nations. With only a handful of elite sailors dominating the class, wind conditions will be a decisive factor in the outcome. The forecast talks about two windy days initially but rather mellow condiitons later on, which could favor Shahar Zubari ISR. The woman to beat here will be Blanca Manchon ESP, who had a very good year with consistent top results. Watch the action via GPS tracking. The event site.

After a long and shifty day of racing at the Knickerbocker Cup match race four contestants have qualified for the semifinals: William Tiller NZL eliminated Anna Tunnicliffe USA in a hard-fought and close series that was decided by mere inches with a 3-2 score, the same tally as Evgeny Neugodnikov RUS in his quarterfinal against Sally Barkow USA. So it was guys 2, gals 0. In the other matches Bill Hardesty USA squeaked past Taylor Canfield ISV with 3-2 as well while top seeded Phil Robertson NZL dismantled Dave Perry USA with 3-0. At press time the pairings for the semis have not been set, but Robertson will pick his opponent first. The elimination bracket and the event Web site.

Back-to-back bullets in the inshore and the coastal race (150% points) pushed Emirates Team New Zealand (20.5 pts.) into the overall lead at the Caja Mediterráneo Region of Murcia Trophy regatta for the TP52 MedCup Series. In blustery winds which topped 22 knots at times the MedCup 2009 champions lead ‘Quantum Racing’ USA (39.5) across the finish line of the short race, and were comfortably ahead of ‘Artemis’ SWE (36) in the coastal race. ‘TeamOrigin’ GBR (29.5) dropped to second overall after a third inshore and limping home in 11th under main only after breaking their forestay in the coastal race. The report Web site with the results and the video of the day.

Croatia was the final winner against France on Lake Ledro, a small lake above Lake Garda, yesterday, winning the Optimist European Team Racing Championship. Winner in the petite final was Italy defeating Turkey for rank 3. The results and the report. Unfortunately, the teams were not presented on the website.

Speed, spills and thrills! Check out the videos by Simon Brown with commentary by Bob Killick from the 18-foot Skiff International Regatta at San Francisco. Some of that stuff is absolutely amazing, especially the aerials of Day 4 with the Bridge-to-Bridge “Fiasko”…

At the time of this report, the Volvo Open 70, ‘Groupama’ FRA (Franck Cammas) was just 123 miles from the finish in Cowes GBR, sailing along at 13 knots on an easterly course. Their pursuers on ‘Teléfonica Blue’ ESP (Iker Martinez) were trailing by 60 miles and gybed south. Both are expected to finish in Cowes by Sunday afternoon BST, in all likelihood setting a new record. The IRC lead changed hands a couple of times with the Ker 46, ‘Tonnerre de Breskens’ NED back on top by corrected time as they are trying to hang on to the coat-tails of the British Keelboat Academy’s TP52, ‘John Merricks II’. The young Brits, by the way, are all unpaid amateurs and drastically short on money, which put their participation in jeopardy. At least they won’t have to go hungry, as they received a full load of freeze-dried food from the crew retired super maxi ‘ICAP Leopard’. The report, the race tracker and the positions.

The breeze returned with a vengeance on the final day of racing at the Hobie 16 World championship semifinals, light at first but getting to the high teens later in the day. It was enough for all competitors to complete four races and the selection of the top 56 teams to amake the cut for the finals. Jerome le Gal/Enrick Obert FRA tied Aaron Worrall/Brad Wilson AUS at the top of the standings. In third Darren Smith/Jasmine Hill AUS followed by William and Lucinda Edwards RSA. Looking at the standings, the dominance of Australian and French sailors with six and three teams in the top 10, respectively, becomes evident. The top 56 teams now move on to the finals, which are sailed today and Monday. Only one discard is allowed, so in all likelihood the champion will come from the small and selective crowd of sailors who have yet to get hit with a double-digit score. The report.

Last week, Russell Coutts NZL explained the present situation in the America's Cup planning in an extensive 21-minutes interview in TVNZ. Whereas the City of San Francisco is desperately trying to solve the infrastructure problems in the Bay Area to host the club on the GGYC home waters, the defender BMW/Oracle together is evaluating designs for mono- and multihulls, course formats and communication techniques. All relevant decisions, venue and cup organisation, shall be made publich this year at the latest. The interview.

Despite torrential downpour at first which was followed by bright sunshine, it was a good day for Yann Guichard and his men on ‘Groupe Edmond de Rothschild’ FRA (111 pts) ending with a win in their match race against Loick Peyron and ‘Oman Sail Masirah’ UAE (95). Optimistic estimates talk about 30,000 spectators watching the nine Xtreme 40 cats (and two German teams among them) duke it out close to shore in Kiel. Dropping to third place was Mike Golding’s ‘Ecover Sailing Team’ GBR (93). Winner of the day was Mitch Booth on ‘the Ocean Racing Club ‘ SLO climbing to fourth overall, in part to redress received after a collision with ‘The Wave, Muscat’ and damage sustained on the aft beam, which forced them to retire. After a long night in the boat shed for the support team, Booth and company are expected to race today, however. The report with results and images.

Almost two complete Round Robins were sailed yesterday in good sailing conditions with a 2 to 4 bft breeze. With only six teams racing, the participation is minimal as mostly in matchraces in Switzerland. Winner of the first Round was Livia Naef YCA with 5-0 followed by Alexa Bezel SVT, in the second Round Robin, Alexa Bezel leads 3-0 ahead of Livia Naef with 3-1. The results (PDF).

The 7th act of the Safram Speed Tour began yesterday off St-Prex with three races sailed in a North-Easterly wind of up to 20 kn at the start, but almost dropping completely at the end. 'Team 21' (Mikael Wallenberg), the overall tour leader, are ahead. The M2-website.