Weekly Sailing Summary

BALMAIN REGATTA

Balmain Sailing Club’s annual Balmain Regatta will be held on Sunday, 25 October, and this year marks its 160th anniversary. Events include the local Pub Challenge, local putt-putt motor boats race and display, vintage skiff racing, vintage wooden yachts, modern yachts and dinghy races as well as tender races, including a “blindfolded” event. Raffle profits will benefit Father Chris Riley’s Youth off the Streets. More details at BoatingOz.

KEEL BOATS

Following Peter Millard and John Honan's 98ft Lahana from Queensland taking line honours in the Bird Island race, Syd Fischer and his Ragamuffin crew have been officially named as the overall winners of the 85 nautical mile race. More info.

A decision by Derwent Sailing Squadron race officer Tony Nicholas to finish Friday night’s first race of the Combined Club’s Offshore Yachting Series at the Iron Pot enabled crews to return to Hobart in time for some rest before the AFL grand final. More details.

The Lake Macquarie Etchells Spring regatta will be held on 3-4 October with around 40 boats expected to compete. The event is a prelude to the Etchell Nationals in January at the same venue. More info.

Charisma, the S&S 57 owned by Spanish banker Alejandro Perez Calzada, sailing under the burgee of Royal Nautical Club of Barcelona, has arrived in Sydney three months prior to the start of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2009. More information.

Rod Jones, the 2009 Audi Australian IRC champion, has not rested on his laurels since winning the title during last month’s Audi Hamilton Island Race Week. More details.

 --INTERNATIONAL

Pieter Taselaar’s Bliksem (USA) won the Audi Melges 32 World Championship 2009, the first edition of the Worlds for the class. Taselaar’s team included Jeremy Wilmot as tactician and his brother Nathan, the Beijing 470 Men’s Olympic gold medalist, and two other Aussies, Michael Coxon and Paul Atkins. More information.

Following the Danish Open, Stage 7 on the World Match Racing Tour, rankings going into the Argo Group Gold Cup have shifted slightly as Tovar Mirsky (AUS) moves up from second to first place on the leader board. More details.

Kyle Langford spoke with 26 year-old pitman Tudur Owen, Mirsky Racing Team’s only non-Australian crew member, on his debut into sailing with the West Australian match racing team. More info.

While history didn’t quite repeat itself today, it came pretty close as the final races of the 2009 12 Metre World Championship were sailed on Rhode Island Sound. Helicopters buzzed and spectator boats jockeyed for front row seats to the action – evoking memories of 26 years ago to the day when the “Auld Mug” was lost to Australia. More details.

Two weeks to go to close of entries and the 2009 Rolex Middle Sea Race has 73 yachts entered so far, only five short of last year's record number. More information.

Alex Thomson’s co skipper for the Transat Jacques Vabre, starting on November 8, will be his long time boat captain Ross Daniel. More details.

Michel Desjoyeaux and Team Foncia win the first edition of the round Europe, Istanbul Europa Race. More details.

AROUND THE WORLD

Teenage sailor Jessica Watson and her parents have been given a clear warning by authorities to call off the 16-year-old's solo trip around the world after a damning assessment of her skills. More information.

The ten yachts in the Clipper Round the World Race are sailing on leg two from La Rochelle to Rio De Janeiro in Brazil. Only 24 nautical miles separate the leader Hull & Humber and Spirit of Australia, but there are still well over 3,600 nautical miles to go. More details.

Giovanni Soldini (43) has been named the skipper of the Italia 70 team, which will race under the Italian flag with a fully Italian crew in the next edition of the Volvo Ocean Race. More details.

Canadian Derek Hatfield announces Spirit of Canada’s next single-handed challenge around the world will be the Velux 5 Oceans 2010-11. More details.

AMERICA’S CUP

The original Boxing Kangaroo flag that became the symbol of hope for all Australians as Alan Bond and his crew battled for, and historically won, the America’s Cup in 1983, is winging its way back to Australia after spending the last 26 years hanging by a broomstick at O’Brien’s Pub, the team’s designated watering hole. More information.

In her ruling relating to a hearing on 10 August, New York Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich highlights “…the unsportsmanlike behavior of Golden Gate that has resulted in substantially reducing SNG's (Société Nautique de Genève) advantage as originally contemplated by the Deed of Gift.” More details.

MULTIHULLS

The WSSR Council has ratified three new world sailing speed records for l’Hydroptère, including the World Sailing Speed Record and the D class World Record. More info.

After spending seven weeks at the Multiplast yard, Groupama 3 is back in her home port of Lorient, Brittany, after being serviced from top to bottom following 15,000 nautical miles of sailing in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. More details.

OFF THE BEACH

Ten year old Whitsunday Sailing Club dinghy sailor Eva Lorenz showed determination during the Queensland Youth Championship on a windy Keppel Bay. More information.

The Sydney 2009 World Masters Games start on 10 October. Dobroyd Aquatic Club at Rodd Point and Woollahra Sailing Club at Rose Bay will be conducting the sailing competition on 12-16 October. 2009 World Masters Sailing.

It’s a one, two, three for the boys from Bonaire, with Taty Frans taking the lead after a full round of furious freestyle at the Colgate World Cup on Sylt’s Westerland Beach in Germany. More details.

NEWS BRIEFS

In response to concerns raised by the National Marine Safety Committee (NMSC) and other representatives of the maritime community about correct radio use, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has released a discussion paper on regulatory arrangements for VHF marine radios used by recreational boaters. More details.

ISAF received nominations for the 2009 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards from across the world for sailors representing all aspects of the sport. More info.

The Boating Bible team has launched another aid to maritime safety – the Nautical Knowledge download for all sailors, whether cruising or racing, offshore or inshore. More information.

The start of a boat race is where you can set up your whole race get into clear air, going the right way initially and the rest of the day can fall into place fairly easily. More details.

NSW Maritime advises mariners to exercise caution at times of reduced visibility. Keep to a safe speed, maintain a proper lookout and show navigation lights. More.

Wild winds caused ten vessels to break free from their moorings on Sydney Harbour. More information.

MARINE INDUSTRY

The South Korean government’s cancellation of Yacht and Boat Korea 2009 scheduled for October 29 to November 1 is the 291st such closure in a normally buoyant Asian market amidst fears of the growth of influenza H1N1, commonly known as Swine Flu. More details.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Oct 3 - The Royal Australian Navy is to be at the forefront at the Official Opening of the new Sandringham Yacht Club premises in Melbourne. More information.

Oct 9 – 11 – Club Marine Mandurah Boat Show, Mandurah Offshore Fishing & Sailing Club WA. Mandurah Boat Show.

Oct 17 – 18 – Darwin Boat Show, Darwin Convention Centre. Darwin Boat Show.

Oct 24  25 -- The Copper Cove Marina Festival in South Australia will combine the best products and produce from local boating, seafood and wine suppliers. More information.

Nov 1 – Try Sailing Day NSW - Sailing and yacht clubs around NSW devote their club, boats and instructors to give people of all ages, with little or no experience a chance to experience the joys of sailing for free. More details.

Nov 14 – 15 - Club Marine Sail Boat Show, Sandringham Yacht Club. More info.

Nov 21 – 23 -- Club Marine Boating Extravaganza, Goolwa, SA - 150 on-water sites, more than 200 hard stand sites and a number of hands-on exhibitions and demonstrations. More details.

Photograph: l’Hydroptère