Two more bullets for Alinghi and the Desafo Trophy in their pocket. Alinghi, the 33rd America’s Cup Defender, put on an excellent performance and even if this event only gives bragging rights it seems they were not as rusty as the other three teams. The last two races of the Desafo Trophy were again sailed under light and shifty conditions and the America’s Cup Defender won both. Hadn’t been for the three ripped spinnakers in the opening race of the event, Alinghi would have gone with a perfect score.
Race 1Following the week’s pattern, the first race got underway under very light and shifty conditions. Alinghi pocketed their fourth victory in the event, after staging a nice comeback from behind. The Defender chose to go to the right side of the course while the other 3 boats opted for the left. Luna Rossa got better pressure and led the first beat rounding the 1st top mark in front of Alinghi. Yet, right after the first gybe, they decided to go left while Alinghi, Team Origin and Desafo sailed on the left. By the time the fleet reached the leeward gate, Alinghi was ahead of Luna Rossa. They held on to a comfortable lead until the finish line. Read the rest of this entry »
[Source: Vende Globe] Its been a tough first night in the sixth Vende Globe, with the fleet facing headwinds of 20-30 knots and 4-6 metre seas, and two boats already returning to port Dominque Wavre on Temenos returned soon after the start with electrical problems, but was able to fix them and rejoin the race shortly after 11pm, whilst Bernard Stamm has also been forced to turn back after a collision with a fishing boat damaged his bowsprit.
This mornings position update shows Marc Guillemot (Safran) still the leader. Most of the fleet are heading directly west as fast as possible, except three leader Guillemot, and British contenders Mike Golding (Ecover) and Sam Davies (Roxy), who have each put in two tacks to stay on a more direct south-westerly course. Of the main north-westerly group, Loick Peyron (Gitana Eighty) is currently in second place, with Roland Jourdain and Kito de Pavant very close by. Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) is the most westerly. On the rankings Dee Caffari (Aviva) is still showing as first Brit in eleventh, while Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) one place behind. Read the rest of this entry »
[Source: Vende Globe] The skipper of Foncia has just announced to the race directors that he is returning to port with electrical problems after a leak in his ballast system
At 9h19 (French time) this morning, while around 200 nautical miles from Les Sables d’Olonne, Michel Desjoyeaux - the skipper of FONCIA - informed his team that he had decided to turn back to port. A small leak in one of the ballast tanks caused an electrical problem making it impossible to start the engine to recharge his batteries.
The shore team is preparing for his return this evening to Les Sables d’Olonne, in order to carry out repairs and set off again, as quickly as possible
Originaly from Source
[Source: Green Dragon Racing Team] The Green Dragon is now back in the water.
The shore crew have worked tirelessly to ensure that all the repairs to Green Dragon were completed on time. After a meticulous re-fit, she was the first boat back in the water exactly 7 days after the Dragon finished Leg 1, taking third overall.
We have had the great opportunity to set up in the custom laid out South African Americas Cup base previously inhabited by Team Shosholoza. This so far has been a great advantage and having literally our own boatyard in the race village is a God send particularly for the huge work list we have to achieve in 4-5 days. The shore team have done a fantastic job, working around the clock to ensure that we were fully prepared for the next leg, Johnny Smullen, Green Dragon Shore Manager. Read the rest of this entry »
[Source: Vende Globe] Alex Thomson’s Hugo Boss has structural damage to the hull of his Open 60 and is returning towards Les Sables d’Olonne.
British skipper Thomson informed the race office that his Open 60 was taking in water but the pumps were controlling the situation. At 2000hrs GMT he was positioned at 460748N and 081846W, about 290 miles from Port Olona and was making a reduced speed of about 7 knots.
Alex Thomson’s Hugo Boss team issued this statement:
” After 32 hours of horrendous Biscay conditions in the Vendee Globe race, Alex Thomson is returning to Les Sables dOlonne following the discovery of a structural problem onboard HUGO BOSS. A crack has appeared on the port side hull, the opposite side to the recent repair. Read the rest of this entry »
STATEMENT OF TOM EHMAN
Spokesman, Golden Gate Yacht Club
11 November 2008
[Source: BMW Oracle] Despite public comments in the past week by a senior Alinghi official that GGYC/BMW ORACLE Racing would be invited to participate in todays Americas Cup meetings in Geneva with no strings attached, over the weekend Russell Coutts was advised by Alinghi that GGYC/BOR are being excluded from the meetings. Regrettably, therefore, we will not be in attendance. Read the rest of this entry »
Regardless of what one might opine about the CNEV, it was great to see the 4 America’s Cup boats racing this afternoon off the Malvarosa beach in Valencia. Not only did we get the chance to see some nice sailing, unfortunately in light winter conditions, we watched Team Origin maker its fist official appearance as well as the return of a new Luna Rossa with Peter Holmberg at the helm.
Two races were sailed, the first one was won by Team Origin and the second one by Alinghi. Both teams are tied at 4 points after having also scored a 3rd. Desafo and Luna Rossa are tied at 6 points with a 2nd and a 4th each. Alinghi could be one point clear of Team Origin if it wasn’t for the three ripped spinnakers in the first run of the first race. Read the rest of this entry »
Solid boatspeed, nearly flawless tactics and crisp crew work resulted in two bullets for Alinghi in the 2nd day of the Desafo Trophy. It is true that the other 3 teams might not be the formidable Emirates Team New Zealand the Swiss faced last year in the America’s Cup, on the same waters, but today’s Alinghi was definitely a notch closer to its former self.
The second day of the Desafo Trophy took place under considerably better conditions than yesterday. First of all the first race was postponed by less than an hour and the second race got underway under an easterly breeze of almost 12 knots. Still, it was tricky and shifty. Alinghi won both races and is now leading overall with 6 points. Right behind them with 10 points is Luna Rossa that scored two seconds. Team Origin is third with 11 points and Desafo is at the bottom of the leaderboard with 13. Read the rest of this entry »
Good morning from Valencia on the third and final day of the 2nd Desafo Trophy.
An hour ago Alinghi held an informal meeting with the press where Brad Butterworth, the team’s skipper, talked about past, present and future of the America’s Cup.
Here’s the raw MP3 file from the talk. Our report and comments will be posted after the end of racing, probably late in the afternoon. The weather forecast is great for tourists but not for sailors. We have blue, sunny skies but hardly any breeze. Local experts don’t expect more than 4-5 knots in the afternoon and with the 3:30pm time limit we’ll be lucky if we have one race. Read the rest of this entry »
Yes; scary stuff!