Weekly Sailing Summary

CYCA team win Harken Women's Match Racing, No I in Team win Top Jocks, ten teams for America's Cup

KEEL BOATS & MULTIHULLS

Katie Abbott and her crew of Tara McCall, Angela Farrell and Sophie Lahey representing the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia are the winners of the Harken Women’s International Match Racing regatta defeating New Zealander Danielle Bowater in the grand final by two races to one. www.cyca.com.au

Invitations were sent out to the winners and placegetters of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s Summer Series 2010-11 to compete in the Mount Gay Rum Top Jocks regatta in a fleet of Elliott 6s. Sailing under the moniker, No I in Team, and representing Darryl Hodgkinson’s Victoire, Sean Kirkjian, Keiryn Cowan and Scott Francis were crowned Champion of Champions. www.cyca.com.au

For the final races of the Grant Thornton Short Haul and Short Ocean Pointscore Series, racing was inside Sydney Harbour due to strong winds. A divisional win gave David Champtaloup’s classic Caprice of Huon the provisional overall IRC series win, her second in succession. Shaaron Walsh’s Ns369 Trim beat Sextant over the line by one minute and 19 seconds and just under six minutes on corrected time to take the PHS division honours. www.cyca.com.au

At the close of entries, 19 yachts have entered this year’s 213 nautical mile Audi Sydney Offshore Newcastle Yacht Race, which starts at 12 noon on Friday 8 April. www.cyca.com.au

18 FOOTERS

Scott Babbage, John Harris and Peter Harris took Race 14 of the Australian 18 Footers League Club Championship on Sydney Harbour in Gotta Love It 7 but the overall champions are John Winning, Andrew Hay and Dave Gibson in Yandoo. www.18footers.com.au

OLYMPIC CLASSES

Yachting Australia has released information for sailors wishing to compete at the 2011 Summer Universaide, to be held in Shenzhen, China, from 11-23 August. Racing will take place in the 470 with men, women or mixed crews, Laser Standard men, Laser Radial women and RS:X for men and women, with each country able to enter two boats in each category. www.yachting.org.au

AMERICA

’S CUP

With the entry deadline of 31st March fast approaching, two more teams have been accepted as competitors for the 34th America's Cup. The ten teams are from Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Italy, USA and China, two teams are from France with two others to make public announcements.

In preparation for the inaugural America’s Cup World Series this July, event organisers will stage on- and off-the-water dress rehearsals in Auckland April 25-29 and May 2-6.

Dates for the 2011-2012 America’s Cup World Series have been announced with the first event starting on 16 July 2011, however, final venue bids are still under review. The Series will be sailed in the AC45, the forerunner to the next generation of America’s Cup boats. www.americascup.com

AROUND THE WORLD

Virbac-Paprec 3, the leading boat in the Barcelona World Race is expected to pass Gibraltar during the night of the 31 March. On current speeds and standings MAPFRE would be 30-36 hours behind. In around four to five days time, the high might start to move a little south and west which will possibly open the door a little for the four chasing boats to have a slightly more favourable approach to the Straits. www.barcelonaworldrace.com

The Velux 5 Oceans fleet departed Punta del Este, Uruguay on 27 March bound for Charleston USA on the fourth of five ocean sprints around the world. Skippers will be able to enter ‘stealth mode’ twice on this leg. www.velux5oceans.com

The deadline has passed and teams entered in the Volvo Ocean Race which have been using existing Volvo Open 70s as their training boats, may now only sail their 2011-12 race boats which are currently under construction and very close to completion. This frees up the second-generation training boats for other potential syndicates wishing to enter the race. www.volvooceanrace.com

RACE OFFICER TRAINING

Yachting Australia will be hosting a National Officiating Program Club Race Officers seminar on 3 April at Middle Harbour Yacht Club in Sydney. Attendees will receive the Club Race Officer accreditation at the conclusion of the seminar. www.yachting.org.au

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

April 10 -- ORCV's Rip Tour. No matter whether you're an avid yachty, casual fisherman, dedicated beach walker, interested surfer, summertime boaty, keen historian or local resident the tour of The Rip at Port Phillip heads is informative and educational and therefore sells out quickly. www.orcv.org.au

April 11-17 -- Sail Port Stephens. Entries are open for all divisions, including the NSW IRC Championship, Commodores Cup (PHS), SB3 National Championship, Sports Boats and the Port Stephens Trophy which has a racing and cruising division. www.sailportstephens.com.au

Apr 15-26 -- Endeavour replica voyage from Sydney to Brisbane. www.anmm.gov.au

April 16-17 -- Geelong Heritage Festival. This National Trust organised community event’s theme is ‘Water’. The Royal Geelong Yacht Club will have all types of historic vessels from times gone by on show and sailing. Some rare film footage will be shown of yachting on Port Phillip Bay from the 1930s. The Enterprize will be berthing at the Club all weekend. www.rgyc.com.au

April 17-24 -- Gladstone Harbour Festival. Free entertainment, live music, street parades, fireworks and the spectacle of the yachts arriving after completing the Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht race. www.gladstonefestival.com

April 22 -- Good Friday.

April 22 -- 61st Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race starts. Queensland’s most famous bluewater yachting event sets sail in the waters off Brisbane every year on Good Friday. www.brisbanetogladstone.com.au

April 22 -- Hydro Tasmania Three Peaks Race starts at Beauty Point on the Tamar River just north of Launceston and finishes in Hobart on the River Derwent. www.threepeaks.org.au

April 23-24 -- Lake Macquarie Classic Boatfest, Toronto NSW. www.classicboatfest.com.au

May 19-22 -- Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show, Gold Coast. www.sanctuarycoveboatshow.com.au

May 19-29 -- Port Douglas Carnivale began in 1994 when the locals created a fiesta around a yacht race. Today there's music, arts, sports, food, culture and all styles of entertainment while the Clippers Cup Yacht Regatta is still a feature. www.carnivale.com.au

May 21-22 -- Captain Cook 1770 Festival, Town of Seventeen-Seventy, Queensland, the site of the first landing of Cook and his party. Saturday is the festival's main day and features live entertainment until 10.30pm, including a re-enactment of Cook's landing by a local amateur theatre company and a fireworks display. Sunday is a family fun day for the children. www.1770festival.com.au

Photograph: Katie Abbott (2nd from right) and her crew of Tara McCall (L), Angela Farrell (2nd left) and Sophie Lahey (far right) win the Harken Women's International Match Racing Regatta courtesy of CYCA and Andrea Francolini.

Weekly Sailing Summary

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