Weekly Sailing Summary

MINI TRANSAT

Australian, Simon McGoldrick, completed the Mini Transat Race, a solo race in 21-feet boats from La Rochelle, France across the Atlantic Ocean to Salvador, Brazil via Madeira. He placed 20th and is the third and youngest Australian to complete the race in its 32 year history.

Geoff Duniam, the other Australian competing in an identical Pogo 2, arrived a couple of days later. He overcame a succession of obstacles including a broken tiller and speedo sensor, which meant greatly reduced control under autopilot. Geoff is almost seven feet tall and to survive three weeks in a 6.5 metre boat is a real achievement! Simon's website is http://www.simonmcgoldrick.com/. Event website is Transat 650.org.

KEEL BOATS

Despite Loki's record breaking run in the Cabbage Tree Island Race, Bob Steel's TP52 Quest arrived at the Sydney Harbour finish line in time to take overall honours in the race, denying Stephen Ainsworth his wished-for race trifecta. See the official CYCA website for more details.

Gentlemens' sailing, was how Dick Cawse described conditions after sailing his Lyons/Cawse 60 Vanguard to a line and overall honours double victory in the 30 nautical mile Botany Bay Race, sailed from Sydney Harbour. The Botany Bay Race was the second race of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia's Ocean Pointscore Series (OPS). More details at CYCA.

Hempel Paints 36th Gosford to Lord Howe Island Yacht Race - Ocean Affinity, Stewart Lewis’ Martens 49 from the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron, is the second Queensland yacht to take line honours in the ocean classic. Clean Up Australia founder and round-the-world yachtsman Ian Kiernan steered his 9.27 metre Huon pine yawl Sanyo Maris to its second successive IRC handicap victory. Event website: Gosford Sailing Club.com.au.

The Royal Yacht Club of Victoria is conducting the Lipton Cup Regatta on 14-15 November, catering to the serious racing fraternity and to cruising sailors too. More details.

18 FOOTERS

Michael Coxon, Aaron Links and Trent Barnabas took out the first race of the NSW Championship on Sydney Harbour. The trio, who has collectively won nine Giltinan championships, led from start to finish scoring a narrow win in their unsponsored skiff, called Sponsor Wanted. More information at http://www.18footers.com.au/.

49ER NATIONALS

The Zhik Australian 49er National Championship begins on Lake Macquarie NSW on 28 November. The event will be hosted by Wangi RSL Amateur Sailing Club. Wangi’s own Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen took the gold medal at the recent World Championship in Italy. More details can be found at the Wangi RSL Amateur Sailing Club website.

AMERICA’S CUP

BMW Oracle Racings’ 90-foot trimaran BOR 90, was dismasted off San Diego on 3 November. No one was hurt in the incident.

Five days later the team revealed a secret weapon, an enormous wing to be tested as an option to increase performance compared with a traditional soft sail rig as previously sea-trialed on BOR 90. More details.

Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), the 33rd America’s Cup defending yacht club, proposed an alternative venue in Australia to the American challenger, BMW Oracle Racing, in a bid to end their continued litigation and return the Cup to the water. But to date no decision on a venue has been made. See the Alinghi website for more information.

AROUND THE WORLD

The first of the ten identical 68-foot yachts sailing in the Clipper 09-10 Round the Word Race is expected to arrive at Royal Cape Yacht Club on Friday 13 November. On the way the fleet has experienced 40 knot winds and heavy seas in the Southern Ocean. California lost steering and Spirit of Australia suffered sail damage. Clipper Around The World.com.

Three yachts representing the Royal Navy, the British Army and the Royal Air Force have completed the fourth leg of Exercise TRANSGLOBE and have arrived in Perth. Three new skippers and a new group of 39 crew will sail for Sydney on leg five. Exercise Transglobe.com.

Groupama 3 skippered by Franck Cammas has passed the Cape Verde archipelago with a considerable lead over the reference time for the around the world record. The giant trimaran is now preparing to negotiate the Doldrums before entering the southern hemisphere. http://www.cammas-groupama.com/

LOUIS VUITTON TROPHY

Emirates Team New Zealand skippered by Dean Barker grabbed an early lead at the Louis Vuitton Trophy Nice Côte d'Azur. Match racing continues in America’s Cup Class yachts until 22 November although the original racing schedule has been thrown into disarray due to the unsettled weather pattern. Louis Vuitton Trophy.com.

TRANSAT JACQES VABRE

Following Sunday's start, there was early drama in the Transat Jacques Vabre, the two handed race from Le Havre, France to Costa Rica. Actual, the new trimaran of Yves le Blevec and co-skipper Jean Le Cam is reported to have pitch-poled and capsized in a position approximately 22 miles north of Cherbourg. Visit Sailing.org for more info.

PLASTIC BOAT

A group of adventurers, scientists and creatives are planning to sail from San Francisco to Sydney on a 60ft catamaran made from reclaimed plastic bottles. Their mission is to beat waste by inspiring sustainable solutions and to highlight the ecological damage done to the world oceans. Check out The Plastiki.com for more details on the adventure.

SAFETY

A discussion paper canvassing new categories for compulsory wearing of lifejackets has been launched in NSW. The reforms are aimed at recreational boaters in situations of heightened risk, especially children and boaters in tinnies. Of the 174 boating fatalities in NSW in the last ten years, just over half resulted from a person falling overboard or a vessel capsizing. Drowning has been the primary cause of death and only seven per cent of victims were known to have been wearing a lifejacket. Comments close on Friday 8 January 2010. Maritime NSW.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

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

Nov 25 - Yachting Australia Roadshow at the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron at 7.30pm, immediately after the Yachting Queensland AGM. A presentation night aimed at introducing new initiatives, answering questions and providing information on the services it offers to the yachting community.

Dec 1 - Yachting Australia Roadshow at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia at 7.30pm. A presentation night aimed at introducing new initiatives, answering questions and providing information on the services it offers to the yachting community.

Dec 5 – 8 -- Sydney International Regatta - Olympic Class regatta on Sydney Harbour NSW Yachting.org.au.

Dec 14 – 19 -- Asia Pacific Regatta, part of the ISAF Sailing World Cup, is a grade one Olympic Class regatta. Sail Melbourne.com.au.

Dec 26 – Rolex Sydney Hobart Rolex Sydney Hobart website. 

Photograph: Simon McGoldrick’s 6.5-metre Pogo 2 courtesy of