Weekly Sailing Summary

KEEL BOATS

After two days of light sailing on Hobsons Bay and Port Phillip, Alan Whiteley and Cougar II won the Lipton Cup in the IRC Division A by three points. Michael Hiatt's Living Doll was second followed by Chris Dare aboard Audi Centre Melbourne. More details at Lipton Cup Regatta website.

New Zealand's Phil Robertson and his WAKA Racing Team beat Australian Michael Dunstan and his SLAM Racing Team, to win the Asian Match Racing Championship. As a result Phil Robertson will be sailing in the final round of the 2009 World Match Racing Tour, the Monsoon Cup to be held in Terengganu, Malaysia from 1-6 December 2009. See Sailing.org.

18 FOOTERS

Michael Coxon, Aaron Links and Trent Barnabas produced another brilliant performance in Thurlow Fisher-City (previously raced as Sponsor Wanted) to score their second consecutive victory in the second race of the NSW 18ft Skiff Championship on Sydney Harbour. More information at http://www.18footers.com.au/.

MULTIHULLS

l'Hydroptere's record campaign in the Mediterranean ended with Alain Thebault and his ten crew smashing the record with an average speed of 50.17 knots (92.91 km/h) over one nautical mile (1.852 km). The trimaran combines the state of the art techniques of the aeronautical and marine industries. Further information at Hydroptere's website.

AMERICA'S CUP

The America's Cup Defender, Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), has confirmed that it will conduct a Deed of Gift Match with the Golden Gate Yacht Club in February 2010 in Valencia, Spain. See Alinghi.com for more details.

AROUND THE WORLD

The jubilant crew of Cork, Ireland were the first to arrive in Cape Town on Leg 3 of the Clipper 09-10 Round the Word Race after sailing from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. After 3,300 miles of ocean racing, Spirit of Australia took sixth place while Qingdao had just over a mile to go to the finish. Leg 4 from Cape Town to Geraldton-Greenough, Western Australia will start on Sunday 22 November. Clipper Round the World website.

The skipper of Groupama 3, Franck Cammas, called the Jules Verne Trophy team on Monday 16 November to inform them that an aft beam bulkhead had broken, leading to serious damage to the float. Despite a storm, the giant catamaran is slowly making headway towards Cape Town some 1,700 miles away (3,000 km) and is therefore abandoning the around the world record attempt. More details.

Progress is slow for Jessica Watson with 370 nautical miles to go before crossing the equator. She learns patience and tries to do some school work as she attempts to sail around the world singlehanded. Jessica Watson website.

LOUIS VUITTON TROPHY

Emirates Team New Zealand, skippered by Dean Barker won the Louis Vuitton Trophy round robin in Nice. They will select their opponent for the semis from the British TeamOrigin (8-3), the Italian Azzurra (7-4) or the Russian Synergy (6-4), which has won five consecutive matches. Find out more at the Louis Vuitton Trophy website.

TRANSAT JACQES VABRE

Sébastien Josse and Jean-François Curzon were airlifted from the BT yacht on Friday by a Portuguese Air Force helicopter after suffering severe damage in 'survival conditions' during the Transat Jacques Vabre, a two handed race from Le Havre, France to Costa Rica.. Sailing in 35-58 knots of wind during the night they had three reefs in the main and no staysail when they heard a big 'crack'. A big wave had broken half of the roof and a big hole appeared in the deck. More details.

Two delicate operations are under way with the Azores as the ultimate destination. The Open 60 BT is under tow and, after hitting an unidentified object, Alex Thomson and Ross Daniel have to nurse Hugo Boss back upwind for what might take three or four days, some of which must be on port tack with the damaged section in the water. At the top of the fleet Groupe Bel are still inching forwards on Safran, less than 30 miles separating the top two, but Mike Golding and Javier Sanso don't seem to be able to hold the two leaders' pace and are now 80 miles back. Check out Jacques-Vabre.com for more info.

NEW PRODUCTS

Dunbier Marine Products has been appointed distributor of the innovative Eco Trailerwash System. Sold in kit form, the Eco Trailerwash System is a network of poly tubing and nozzles which is fitted to the trailer frame and connected to a water supply via a standard hose fitting. The nozzles, which are positioned all around the trailer, can be adjusted to spray specific areas such as wheel hubs, brake systems and axles. The Eco Trailerwash uses up to 80 per cent less water compared to using a standard hose and is suitable for trailers up to eight metres in length.

NEWS BRIEFS

Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show on 20-23 May 2010 will introduce a Prestige Brokerage Display to showcase vessels of 15 metres or longer. Only accredited marina brokers and dealers will be permitted to exhibit within the area. Exhibitor bookings have opened for 2010. See the Sanctuary Cove Boat Show website for more information.

The Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron is again hosting its popular Sail & Play program during the summer holiday break, catering for primary school aged children. The five day program is the first step to introducing children to the RQYS Junior Sailing Program. More details.

NSW Police Force Marine Area Command conducted an exercise in waters off Sydney on Sunday to deliver practical experience and enhanced skills for police and volunteers involved in marine search and rescue. Personnel from the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard Association, Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol, and the Royal Australian Navy 723 Squadron searched a 16 square nautical mile area for three missing persons (mannequins). More info.

The Australian Sailing Team's Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen have been named the Australian Institute of Sport Team of the Year at the 2009 AIS Awards after winning all three international regattas they competed in, including the 49er World Championship and two ISAF Sailing World Cup victories. See http://www.yachting.org.au/ for more details.

Torben Grael and Anna Tunnicliffe were named the 2009 ISAF Rolex World Sailors of the Year. Grael from Brazil has won five Olympic medals, more than any other sailor in history, and can claim multiple world championship titles together with a Louis Vuitton Cup (Luna Rossa, 2000). His most recent achievement in the 2008-2009 Volvo Ocean Race, where he skippered Ericsson 4 to victory, is the one for which he was recognised at the ceremony. Tunnicliffe was born in Great Britain, but has lived in the United States since she was twelve. She succeeded in two disciplines Match Racing and Laser sailing through out the year. Visit Sailing.org for more information.

The Council of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) concluded their meeting in Busan, Korea on Saturday. The Council is in favour of utilising tracking systems to improve the presentation of sailing and to improve race management, particularly in relation to OCS decisions. A working party has been analysing existing systems and intends to return to Council next November with a Submission on implementing measures to develop tracking systems at the ISAF Sailing World Cup and other ISAF event: www.Sailing.org.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

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. More info.

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 Yacht Race.

Photograph © Guilain Grenier: l'Hydroptere