Sailing news summary

ROLEX TROPHY & SYDNEY HOBART YACHT RACE
Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA)

The Rolex Trophy - Ratings Series - Of the three divisions in the Rolex Trophy Ratings Series in Sydney, two of them were settled by tiebreak with only Ray Roberts' DK46 Quantum Racing a clear winner. Bob Oatley's Wild Oats did not compete on the last day, deciding instead to shorten their long list of jobs on the new boat.

 - Consistently strong results by Ray Roberts' DK 46 Quantum Racing and Stephen Ainsworth's Reichel/Pugh 60 Loki gave the Australian team a 13 point lead from Queensland going into next week's Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

 - Two of Australia's champion sailors, Sean Kirkjian and Michael Blackburn, played significant roles as a helmsman and a key sail trimmer aboard Yendys and Quantum Racing, the two yachts gaining top placings.

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race entrant Berrimilla arrived in Sydney Harbour on Tuesday after a year-long, sailing adventure. After finishing the race in Hobart last year, skipper Alex Whitworth and friend Peter Crozier sailed the 10.2 metre, 28 year old yacht to the UK via the Falkland Islands. They competed in the Rolex Fastnet Race, finishing 2nd in their division and were recognised for their achievements with a Royal Ocean Racing Club Seamanship Award.

Sydney skipper Sean Langman will race the 90ft maxi AAPT in the Rolex Sydney Hobart this year, withdrawing his much loved Open 66, also named AAPT. The big AAPT is the line honours winning yacht of 2004 which raced under the name of Nicorette.

 - Noakes Youth is a community initiative Langman has set up to create opportunities for youngsters between 15 and 25 in the workplace and sailing. Under the program, kids from well-off backgrounds who want to sail with some of the best racing sailors work and train with kids from disadvantaged backgrounds and off the streets. 9 of his 20 crew will be from this program.

Dec 26 - Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race starts in Sydney Harbour at 1.20pm. The start line will be somewhere between Steel Point and Bradelys Head, depending on the wind. The fleet now stands at 85 yachts. Follow the race -
Radio: 11.30am – 2.30pm on Sailors Radio on FM107.3 www.sailorsradio.com/
TV: 1.00pm and 2.30pm on Channel 7, also on news and news updates Official website: www.rolexsydneyhobart.com

It is very easy when talking about the Volvo Ocean Race to mention how much the boats cost and how expensive a campaign might be but what is not mentioned quite so often is the official race charity and how the race tries to give a little something back.

Editor's note: Channel 10's half hour program on Monday at 11.30pm is worth staying up for or taping as you get to see the crews and learn about the new Volvo 70s.

More information at www.boatingoz.com.au

KEEL BOATS & MULTIHULLS
The Ocean Racing Club of Victoria is running the following races during the holidays Dec 26 - Cork of the Bay Yacht Race (deliberately misspelt to appease spam
filters)
Dec 27 - Melbourne to Launceston Yacht race
Dec 27 - 2005 Melbourne to Hobart Yacht race

Pittwater & Coffs Harbour Offshore Series starts with races from Pittwater on December 27 and 28 and the race to Coffs on January 2.

Jan 2 - 5 -- Sailing South Race Week will be conducted by the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania.

A major new Royal Yacht Club of Victoria sponsor, Nautilus Marine Insurance, has added wind into the spinnakers of boats competing in this summer's racing.

2005 Corum Melges 24 World Championship, Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo. After six intense days of demanding racing, James Spithill's Italian Luna Rossa team held on to a diminished margin to take the top trophies with an eight point margin.

More information at www.boatingoz.com.au

CRUISING
Forget the glamour of high tech, lightweight flyers and drenched professional crews perched on the rail battling across Bass Strait, for David and Andrea McKay this 2005 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is the start of a life the rest of us dream about.

Cruising World magazine Boat of the Year Awards - The two overall winners are the Domestic (USA) Cruising Boat of the Year - the Morris 42; the Import Cruising Boat of the Year - the Hallberg-Rassy 62.

More information at www.boatingoz.com.au

OFF THE BEACH & OLYMPIC CLASSES
The 2005 Sydney International Regatta (SIRs) - Racing concluded on Tuesday. Race officials were very impressed with Rohan Veal sailing his Moth with foils. The other competitors have foils but were still learning to sail with them while Rohan was way in front, screaming along. The mark boat driver reckons he could hardly keep up with him in a good breeze.

Australian 18 Footers League - One of the fleet veterans, John Winning, a former world 18ft Skiff champion, had to be content this time with a second placing when his son John Winning Jnr. brought Appliances Online home a clear winner.

Formula Windsurfing World Championship, part of Sail Melbourne, hosted by Elwood Sailing Club. Five wins gave Sydney based Allison Shreeve her first windsurfing world title. France's Antoine Albeau took the men's title.

Ian Pretty, Tony Bailey and Matt Hodgson returned to the winners circle on the 18 footer Wentworth Courier Sydney Weekly in the race conducted by the Sydney Flying Squadron.

Dec 28 - Jan 7 -- Australian Sabot Championship, Keppel Bay Sailing Club at Yeppoon in Queensland.

More information at www.boatingoz.com.au

INDUSTRY NEWS
The Marina Association of Australia is offering two education courses in 2006. Numbers are strictly limited for both courses. Feb 18 - 20 -- A Fundamental Marina Management Course will be held in Queensland
Mar 27 -30 -- The Intermediate Marina Management Course to be held in Sydney is the only Intermediate course to be held in the Southern Hemisphere in the next 18 months.

Jody Hollow, manager of the Gladesville Bridge Marina, has been awarded the inaugural Bellingham Marinas scholarship recently unveiled by the Marina Association of Australia. The scholarship covers a fully-paid attendance at the next Intermediate Marina Management course.

Positions Vacant - Sport Services Coordinator - Technical Yachting Australia seeks to appoint an experienced person to the position of Sport Services Coordinator - Technical. Applications close January 6.

National Marine Safety Council CEO Maurene Horder responds to comments in the marketplace by boat plan retailer Brian Poole on the Australian Builders Plate for Recreational Boats. The Australian Builders Plate is being introduced for most new recreational boats including those imported into Australia, with the expectation that it will reduce injuries and fatalities on the water.

NSW Maritime will provide more than $740,000 in grants this year to volunteer marine rescue organisations. NSW Maritime funds the grants from boating fees. In NSW there are more than 440,000 people who hold a licence to drive a powerboat, there are 200,000 people with a registered vessel, and it is estimated that more than 1.5 million people enjoy boating statewide.

More information at www.boatingoz.com.au

AROUND THE WORLD
Clipper 05-06 Round the World Yacht Race - Durban wins the Leg 3 from Durban, South Africa to Fremantle followed by Victoria (Canada) and Western Australia, the only yacht to be on the podium on all the races so far. In this event consistency is key, and the boat from down under keeps her place in the overall lead. The Clippers start Leg 4 to Singapore on January 1.

Nick Moloney onboard Skandia arrived at Les Sables d'Olonne, France, completing his solo tour of the globe. Nick left Brazil on November 25, exactly 10 months to the day from when he lost his keel ending his Vendée Globe race. Nick now heads for Australia to spend time with his family and compete in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race onboard Alex Thomson's Open 60 Hugo Boss.

More information at www.boatingoz.com.au

IN MEMORIAM
John Bennetto, a 'legend in Australian yachting', has died in Hobart after a brief illness. His current yacht, Quest, will be sailed in his memory by long time members of his crew in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race.

More information at www.boatingoz.com.au

Photo by Carlo Borlenghi