[Source: World Match Racing Tour] Second win on the 2008 World Tour, earned 2-0 against runner-up Magnus Holmbe

After a long day that started with having to defeat one of his own team mates from the French Match Racing Team, Sebastian Col (FRA) and his crew of Gilles Favennec, Christophe Andre, Philippe Mourniac, and Olivier Douliard have won the Troia Portugal Match Cup. Getting past Magnus Holmberg (SWE) and his Victory Challenge team 2-0 in an exciting Final series, Col and crew have taken the top prize of US$30,000 of the $125,000 purse and earned 25 points on the 2008 World Tour leaderboard. Read the rest of this entry »

[Source: Golden Gate Yacht Club]

GOLDENGATE YACHT CLUB FILES APPEAL BRIEF

SETTLEMENT OFFER STILL ON TABLE
GGYC spokesperson Tom Ehman said, At their meeting this weekend, Larry Ellison and Ernesto Bertarelli agreed to continue discussions that could bring an end to this legal battle. However, no dates for further meetings have been set, and we do not expect an immediate resolution. Today, we filed our appeal brief with the New York State Court of Appeals to meet the Courts deadline. Read the rest of this entry »

[Source: RC44] The fifth event of the RC 44 Championship Tour 2008 will take place in Trieste (ITA) on October 7-11. The regatta will assemble some of the worlds best sailors on board ten strict one design RC 44s. It will also mark the arrival of some new prestigious teams and sailors.

Torbjorn Tornqvist will sail his brand new RC 44 Artemis for the first time, with Dean Barker at the helm for the match races. Barker knows the RC 44 Class well, having already competed in many events. However it will be his first outing on an RC 44 with Torbjorn Tornqvist and his team. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s the first set of pictures from our friend Goli in San Diego. The trimaran has, obviously, been seen and photographed many times since its launch but it is still interesting to notice that there was hardly any effort being made by BMW Oracle to hide the yacht.

The BMW Oracle trimaran arrives in the team’s temporary base. San Diego, 26 September 2008. Photo copyright Goli Read the rest of this entry »

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] Light fluky breeze and strong tides delayed the start of racing today in Day Three of Troia Portugal Match Cup, with the resumption of the Round Robin not commencing until mid-afternoon and extending right up to sunset. But once the late seabreeze did finally fill, it provided the opportunity for great match race action in all flights, with multiple lead changes, penalties, and early starts keeping the assembled shore side spectators on edge.

Since new teams rotate through the three pairs of SM40s in every flight, it took an accurate score sheet to track who was rising and who was falling through the ranks of the 12 teams entered for the event. But once the dust settled, it became clear the French Match Racing teams led by Mathieu Richard on Team French Spirit and Sebastian Col on K-Challenge were continuing their dominance of the event, with Richard on a nearly undefeated record of 9 wins in 10 matches sailed, and Col on 7 wins in 9 matches sailed. Read the rest of this entry »

[Source: Alinghi] Ernesto Bertarelli and Larry Ellison had a positive meeting yesterday in California, discussing possible solutions to the current situation of the Americas Cup. They share the same passion for the sport of sailing and for the Americas Cup and they both want to get it back on the water and see an evolution of the event. Whilst no definitive decision was taken after this discussion, further meetings will be held in the immediate future between Alinghi and BMW Oracle Racing. Alinghi will also continue to hold meetings with other Challengers to discuss about how to move ahead the America’s Cup.
Originaly from Source

[Source: BMW Oracle] Ellison Reiterates Offer for Conventional Multi-Challenger Regatta

Larry Ellison and Ernesto Bertarelli held a cordial meeting on Saturday, Sept. 27 in San Francisco to discuss the issues surrounding the 33rd Americas Cup.

GGYC spokesman Tom Ehman said, Larry Ellison reiterated the GGYC offer if we return to a multi-challenger event for AC33 with fair and competitive rules similar to those used for AC32, GGYC will withdraw its appeal to the New York Court of Appeals.

Messrs. Ellison and Bertarelli have agreed to further meetings to continue those discussions, but no dates have been set. In the meantime, GGYC will file its appellate brief with the New York State Court of Appeals as planned on Monday, Sept. 29 in order to meet the Courts deadline.
Originaly from Source

[Source: World Match Racing Tour] Mathew Richard from the French Match Racing Team/Team French Spirit, the number one ISAF ranked sailor in the world, continued his excellent form after winning the recent World Tour event in Switzerland with a storming day at the Troia Portugal Match Cup, winning four of his five matches on the opening day.

With many of the worlds best match racing stars here sailing the SM40s, the competition for the $125,000 prize money event has already proven fierce in the opening flights of the Round Robin phase. Richard defeated Manual Weiller from Spain, then local hero Alvaro Marinho in a close match, Kiwi Adam Minoprio, and rising Aussie star Torvar Mirsky, finalist in Match Cup Sweden, who had his wings clipped by a masterful French display in the first flight of the day. Read the rest of this entry »

[Source:Volvo Ocean Race] The Volvo Ocean Race has appointed The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to assist in creating a strategy for the most challenging round-the-world race to become the world’s undisputed sailing event.

“The Volvo Ocean Race has set itself highly ambitious goals for the future. Together with BCG, we will define the strategy and develop the right capabilities and skills to achieve these goals to make our race the world’s premier sailing eventin terms of both commercial and sportive measures,” said Knut Frostad, CEO of Volvo Ocean Race. Read the rest of this entry »

Once again, Jaume Soler, one of Spain’s most authoritative sailing journalists, informs us in his blog about the latest news concerning the Spanish Sailing Federation (RFEV). As of yesterday, the presidential campaign has officially started.

Why should you care about the presidential elections of the Spanish Sailing Federation? Because its outcome might play a significant role in the legal process currently affecting the America’s Cup.

The election process is quite long and tedious, taking almost two months, from yesterday until December the 17th, when the final winner will be officially proclaimed. This is due to the elaborate and complicated procedure that exists. In a process similar to the US presidential elections, all eligible voters will first elect an electoral body of approximately 60-70 electors who then in their turn vote for the president of the national federation. Unlike the US system, these electors have no obligations whatsoever to “pledge” themselves to any presidential candidate. They are free to cast their vote for any candidate, regardless of what they might have declared at any time. Read the rest of this entry »