Weekly Sailing Summary
Lion New Zealand enters Rolex Sydney Hobart again, Black Jacks race north, Jessica Watson update, bosun chair product recallROLEX SYDNEY HOBART
The Kiwi yacht Lion New Zealand is the 60th applicant for entry for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2009. Skippered by the late Sir Peter Blake and crewed by yachting legends Grant Dalton, Simon Gundry and Kevin Shoebridge, the Ron Holland designed 78 foot Whitbread maxi swept to victory in the 1984 Sydney Hobart and was one of only 46 of the 151 starters to finish.
To commemorate the 25th anniversary of their win, the 2009 skipper, Alistair Moore, will be joined by Sarah Jane Blake, Conrad Gundry and Sam Cray, the offspring of some of the 1984 crew.
Applications for entry to the Rolex Sydney Hobart close Monday 2 November 2009 at 1700hrs AEST. A total of 64 yachts have now been nominated for entry. Visit the CYCA website cyca.com.au
PITTWATER TO COFFS & SAIL PARADISE
Peter Harburg has been struggling to decide which of his two ocean racing yachts to use for the inaugural east coast offshore circuit that starts with the 29th Pittwater to Coffs Harbour race on 2 January and ends with Sail Paradise off the Gold Coast ... so he's decided to use both!
Harburg plans to race his successful Reichel/Pugh 66, Black Jack, in the Pittwater to Coffs race, then he and many of his team will jump aboard his brand new Reichel/Pugh 42 for the remainder of the races north to the Gold Coast.
But if Bob Oatley and his skipper Mark Richards rush back from the Rolex Sydney Hobart race and enter Black Jack's near sistership, Wild Oats X, for the entire circuit, then Harburg will match them all the way with the big Black Jack.
The Notice of Race for the Pittwater to Coffs Harbour race, the Coffs to Paradise race and Sail Paradise can be found at pittwatertocoffs.com.au or southportyachtclub.com.au. Multihull, cruising and sportboat divisions are also included in Sail Paradise.
JESSICA WATSON UPDATE
Jessica Watson is writing a blog on her website as she sails across the Tasman Sea in her attempt to sail around the world alone and unassisted. So far the weather has been kind and the sixteen year old sailor has sailed passed Norfolk Island on board Ella's Pink Lady. Visit jessicawatson.com.au
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau issued a preliminary report on the collision between the single-handed yacht Ella's Pink Lady and the Hong Kong registered bulk carrier Silver Yang on 9 September 2009, off North Stradbroke Island, Queensland. The ATSB investigation is continuing and will focus on several areas including the electronic detectability of the yacht, the lookout being kept on board both vessels, adherence to the International Regulations for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea (COLREGS), collision risk assessment, actions taken following the collision and human factors issues associated with the incident. Australian Transport Safety Bureau media release on preliminary report at atsb.gov.au/media/739587/mo2009008_prelim.pdf
Records tumbled in this year's HSBC Premier Coastal Classic from Auckland to Russell in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. The 30-metre Alfa Romeo was the first boat to sail the 119 nautical mile course in under seven hours. Dan Slater's Frantic Drift secured a new record for multihulls under 10.66m, finishing under eight hours and averaging over 17 knots. Visit coastalclassic.co.nz
The 69-foot Mills designed Alegre (GBR), skippered and owned by Andy Soriano, was the overall winner of the 30th Rolex Middle Sea Race, a 606 nautical race around Sicily starting and finishing in Valletta, Malta. Visit regattanews.com
Eight world-class sailing teams, including BMW ORACLE Racing and Emirates Team New Zealand, are heading to Nice for the Louis Vuitton Trophy, which runs from the 7-22 November, 2009.
AMERICA'S CUP
The BMW ORACLE Racing team is putting the final touches on the latest modifications to its trimaran, the BOR 90, before it returns to the water to resume testing ahead of the 33rd America's Cup Match in February. Modifications include the addition of an engine, reworking of numerous on-board systems and major changes to the deck configuration and layout. When the team resumes training, the sailing crew will be without the grinders, as they have been replaced by the engine. Visit bmworacleracing.com/en/
Alinghi 5 tried its new longer mast out on the waters off Ras Al Khaimah, the venue for the next America's Cup. Alinghi 5 is an ongoing development program and all elements will continue to be refined. Further information alinghi.com/en/
As a result of that decision, the Mick Scully Trophy three buoys race was sailed on Sydney Harbour on 25 October in very light conditions. John Winning, standing in as replacement skipper for Simon Nearn, teamed with Craig Ferris and Chris Cleary to record an all the way victory in Delonghi. Visit 18footers.com.au
ENVIRONMENT
Marine Queensland speaks out over concerns regarding the increased levels of pollution found in our waterways after the results of the Ecosystem Health Report Card were released. Significant research and debate has been centered on designating marine parks and green zones in Queensland to preserve marine environments and the marine life, but the greatest contributor to waterways pollution is the waste that occurs as a result of run-off from streets and roads via storm water drains. See Marine Queensland's website marineqld.com.au
NEWS BRIEFS
Tall ships Young Endeavour and STS Leeuwin II raced off Perth and Fremantle recently with Young Endeavour winning the Australian Sail Training Association Billy Can Trophy for 2009. Visit youngendeavour.gov.au
Lloyds Ports of the World 2009 directory gives you more than 1000 pages of valuable information, meticulously researched by a team of industry experts to ensure its accuracy. The 2009 edition is out now, and features over 20,000 port facilities and services and Port-Call Statistics recording the number of arrivals at each major port by specific vessel type.
MARINE INDUSTRY
NSW Maritime is calling for Registrations of Interest (ROI) to both develop and operate two proposed maritime hub sites at Homebush Bay, West Sydney. Registration of Interest closes Friday, 30 October 2009. See the NSW Maritime website maritime.nsw.gov.au
The global economic downturn has impacted on the luxury yacht building industry and Australian yacht builder Azzura Marine says it does not have the financial resources to maintain three ship building facilities. Azzura Marine Nowra Pty Ltd is to cease operations and be placed into creditor's voluntary liquidation. Visit Azzura Marine's website azzuramarine.com
Three Australian companies have been nominated in three categories for the DAME (Design Award METS), a worldwide design competition for new marine equipment and accessories. Superior Jetties' Superior Fender, Ronstan's Series 25 T-Track Composite Jib Lead Car and VEEM Propellers & Propulsion's VEEMSurf Interceptor Propeller were among the 53 nominations from a total of 125 entries. Visit metstrade.com
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
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. Visit bia.org.au/events/Try-Sailing
Nov 8 -- Go Sailing Day to help people go sailing at over 80 clubs throughout Victoria. Register your interest at gosailing.com.au
Nov 14 -- 15 -- Club Marine Sail Boat Show, Sandringham Yacht Club. Visit sailboatshow.com.au
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. Visit tmhi.com.au/boating_extra.php
Dec 5 -- 8 -- Sydney International Regatta - Olympic Class regatta on Sydney Harbour Visit nsw.yachting.org.au
Dec 14 -- 19 -- Asia Pacific Regatta, part of the ISAF Sailing World Cup, is a grade one Olympic Class regatta. Visit sailmelbourne.com.au
Dec 26 -- Rolex Sydney Hobart Visit rolexsydneyhobart.com
Photograph courtesy of Andrea Francolini/Audi: The 66ft Black Jack at Audi Hamilton Island Race Week
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
