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TYPICAL LIGHT WINDS IN ANNAPOLIS FOR THE 2006 SOLING WORLDS
A good day for the Canadians, who had CAN 225 Peter Hall, Phillip Karrigan, Jay Deakin wining the first race and CAN 1 Bill Abbott, Paul Davis and Joanne Abbott wining the second race.

CAN 230 Hans Fogh, Roger Cheer and Gordon Devries also with a good day kept the lead at the overall results with 8 points, USA 840 the best US boat with Jim Medley, Jamie Stewart and Chris Roberts with 15 points. ES Plastic GER 267 with Alex Holl, Norbert Helliegrel, Thomas Olbrich are in third overall with 21 points.

With a great performance the Shoselin team the best South American with Pablo Despontin, Pablo Noceti and Ezequiel F. Sasso climbed into fourth with 25 points. -- Matias Collins

Top ten:

1. Hans Fogh / Roger Cheer / Gordon Devries, CAN, 8
2. Jim Medley / Jamie Stewart / Chris Roberts, USA, 15
3. Alexander Holl / Norbert Hellriegel / Thomas Olbrich, GER, 21
4. Pablo Despontin / Pablo Noceti / Ezequiel F Sasso, ARG, 25
5. Jorgen Johnsson / Augi Hernandez / Martin Johnssony, USA, 27
6. Preben Asbjornrod / Richard Fikse / Christensen Bernt Ole, NOR, 29
7. Peter Galloway / Paul Steinborn / Greg Anthony, USA, 32
8. Jerome (Joe) Hoeksema / Matias Collins / Rose Hoeksema, USA, 32
9. Johan Offermans / Bas Dusee / Peter Mosch, NED, 35
10. Gustavo Warburg / Maximo Smith / Miguel Lacour, ARG, 38

www.solingworlds.com

DOHA 2006 SETS SAIL FOR HOBART
We have been out here in the heat of the Gulf for the past ten months preparing for what will be the biggest challenge in my life – to sail solo, non-stop around the world in 70 days.

Finally, late on Sunday, we were able to hoist sail for the first time and my catamaran Doha 2006, resplendent in the colours of the 15th Asian Games, has now set off down the Gulf bound for Hobart, Tasmania in readiness for the start of my solo non stop record attempt around the world.

Early next week the crew will reach the Maldives where I will join them for the final 2-week voyage down into the Southern Ocean and around Australia to the start and finish point of this record.

My choice of Hobart as the start and finish point for this record, has raised some eyebrows, particularly within the French yachting community, who question why I am not going from the traditional northern hemisphere start point off Ushant.

The first point is that the course distance, which has been ratified by the World Sailing Speed Record Council, is exactly the same as if I start and finish off the French island. Second, the international rules that govern these records make no restriction on where these round the world records commence. And third, it is quicker for me to sail from Doha to Hobart, than it is to return for a Northern Hemisphere start.

The point of this record attempt is to fly the flag for the 2006 Asian Games. The current solo round the world record, set last year by Dame Ellen MacArthur in the trimaran B&Q,, stands at 71 days 14hrs 18mins 33secs,. I am convinced that my larger catamaran can complete the 27,000 mile course in 70 days. By starting from Hobart, I will be little more than a day away from the westerly winds in the Roaring Forty latitudes that will slingshot me across the first 5,000 mile stage to Cape Horn. I then follow the South American coast northwards across the Equator from where I must pick my way through the calms of the Doldrums and those associated with the Azores high pressure system to round the island of Flores before returning southwards to the Cape of Good Hope. -- Tony Bullimore

www.teambullimore.com

LOVELL/OGLETREE WIN 10TH TORNADO NAT'L CHAMPS
Congratulations to John Lovell and Charlie Ogletree winning their 10th Tornado National Championship in San Diego, 9-11 Oct. The Olympic Medalists and perennial Ullman Sails customers, also won the USA Pre-Olympic Trials, 13-15 Oct. The top 4 Tornado's in both events used Ullman Sails to dominate the competition. Ullman Sails delivers the speed that assists John, Charlie and other world class competitors in their quest for national and world titles, and Olympic medals. If you and your crew are ready for the "Fastest Sails on the Planet", contact your nearest Ullman Sails loft and visit www.ullmansails.com

VELUX 5 OCEANS: THE SCRUTINEERS!
Before the eight yachts entered in the Velux 5 Oceans cross the start line at 13:00 local time on Sunday 22nd October, they must all pass a rigorous, mandatory, scrutineering test. The race organisers, Clipper Ventures, have appointed a team of four scrutineers from the company's fleet of 68ft ocean racing yachts to oversee this vital element in the pre-race programme. Mark Preedy, skipper of the Clipper 68, Qingdao, is head of the Velux 5 Oceans scrutineers: "We're assisting the Race Director in ensuring that all boats comply to the stringent safety rules of IMOCA [International Monohull Open Class Association]" Preedy explains.

The scrutineering team check every aspect relating to the skipper's safety. On deck they will measure the distance between the guard rails, the thickness of the wire used in the guard rails, the position of the lifelines and attachment points in the cockpit for the skipper's safety harness. Below deck, the variety of yacht design in the race fleet has proved a complication for the scrutineers: "All the internal layouts are different and no two yachts are the same" continues Preedy, "It has been a lengthy process and checking that all the safety equipment is positioned correctly and that everything can be manhandled to the escape hatch in the transom is crucial to the regulations." The team will also check the skipper's 'grab bag' and ensure that he carries all the survival equipment, clothing and rations to help him remain alive should he abandon his yacht.

Preedy has assisted in registering the yachts' EPIRBs (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon), ensuring that the skipper's unique identification signal is recorded by the satellite monitoring services worldwide. Velux 5 Oceans have supplied each yacht with an extra EPIRB. Usually, an Open 60 will carry two units; one fitted externally and a second one in the grab bag that the skipper activates if he has to get into the liferaft. The extra EPIRB can also be carried onto the liferaft and will give a skipper a total of 10 days battery power." Should one of the race skippers abandon their yacht in the remote Southern Ocean, this backup system will provide vital information for the search and rescue services over a prolonged period.

* Hugo Boss sponsored solo sailor, Alex Thomson, has chosen sailing legend Jeans-Yves Bernot as his weather strategist for the Velux 5 Oceans. Reputed as the best by many in the sailing fraternity, Jean-Yves has worked with some of the world's top sailors in all disciplines of the sport from single and double-handed racing, to Volvo Ocean Race and multihull campaigns.

Bernot was navigator on Djuice Dragons in the Volvo Ocean Race 2001-02 and before that he competed onboard Team Adventure in The Race. He worked as weather router for Ellen McArthur when she won the Route du Rhum and for Transat Jacques Vabre winner Jean-Pierre Dick and runner-up Roland Jourdain.

* At 67, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston is the oldest and the most experienced competitor in the race, and is set to become the oldest Briton to sail solo round the world. An iconic sailing hero and a much admired pioneer in solo sailing, Sir Robin was the first man to ever sail single-handed, non-stop around the world, in 1969 when he won The Sunday Times Golden Globe race on board his yacht 'Suhaili'. Back then, his record-breaking circumnavigation took a monumental 312 days, during which Sir Robin lived off rain water caught in a bucket and The Sunday Times even prepared his obituary, believing he had been lost at sea. With no means of communication and in a pre-GPS era, he was reliant upon navigation via sextant and gained weather information from a mercury barometer. Sir Robin hopes to take around 200 days off his 1969 record during the 2006 Velux 5 Oceans, in his state of the art Open 60 'Saga Insurance'.

* Skippers Unai Basurko and Kojiro Shiraishi have more in common than they might think. Each inspired as youngsters by fellow countrymen in the world of yachting, and now alone representing their respective countries, Unai (ESP) and Kojiro (JPN) have very unique stories to tell behind their journeys to the startline.

Unai Basurko, 33, based in Bizkaia - the host start and finish region of the race - credits Spanish skipper José Luis de Ugarte, as the man who inspired him to enter the world of yachting. Ugarte, who in 1988 sailed Open 60 Castrol Solo in the Carlsberg Transatlantic Race, finished 17th in a fleet of 73 yachts. In the 1990-91 edition, Basurko's emotional connection with solo sailing magnified as he watched Ugarte and Australian skipper, Kanga Birtles, race each other round the planet. While Ugarte provided friendship and encouragement for the young Basque, Birtles would supply practical experience and a first taste of double-handed sailing in the 1998 Trans Tasman Race. Winning this event from Australia to New Zealand confirmed Basurko's passion and dreams for single-handed racing: in the skipper's own words, "By then, I was in love with this type of sailing."

Shiraishi, who has one of the strongest and longest connections with the Velux 5 Oceans of all the skippers competing, looks set to be one of the front-runners in this solo circumnavigation. Having graduated with qualifications in commercial fishing, the 20 year-old 'Koji' became apprentice to Japan's legendary single-handed sailor, the Tokyo taxi driver, Yukoh Tada, class winner of the first BOC Challenge (the first edition of the Velux 5 Oceans) in 1982. Mesmerised by Tada's character and unique approach to solo sailing, Koji signed on as shore crew for his mentor during the 1990 race. After Tada's death, Koji experienced single-handing for the first time, delivering his sailing tutor's 50ft yacht, Okera VII, from Australia to Japan.

www.velux5oceans.com

ACCURATE, RELIABLE & DEPENDABLE PERFORMANCE
Words you wish described your sailing instrument system. Ockam is the leader in providing the most accurate real-time data available. The high-speed Tryad processor combined with an available 3-axis rate stabilized compass utilizes the full motion of the boat to deliver a stable wind solution that you can depend on. With performance and weight in mind, all sensors interface close to their location allowing the information to stream unimpeded throughout the system's reliable and robust single cable network. View more lines of information than the competition with the new Matryx II, a transflective graphical display that also strip-charts data. . Contact. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

www.ockam.com

NZL 92 LAUNCHED IN AUCKLAND
Prime Minister Helen Clark today named the boat which will race for Emirates Team New Zealand at next year's America's Cup in Spain.

The new boat was officially named 'New Zealand' during a ceremony at Auckland's Viaduct Harbour this evening.

"New Zealand has fashioned a superb record in the America's Cup going back to our first participation in Fremantle in 1987," Helen Clark said.

"In 1995, under Sir Peter Blake, Team New Zealand won the Cup in San Diego, leading to the two memorable defences in Auckland. The past decade has shown that New Zealand has the talent and expertise to win the toughest competition in international yachting.

Helen Clark said competing in the America's Cup had significant economic potential for New Zealand, and government is investing in Emirates Team New Zealand to leverage off next year's challenge in Spain.

"Tourism New Zealand and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise are strategic partners to the team. They will be using the regattas as a chance to raise New Zealand's tourism and business profile in Europe and the Middle East.

"Part of Emirates Team New Zealand base at Valencia has been transformed into a New Zealand themed area where influential business contacts in Europe will be hosted during next year's racing.

"It's an excellent opportunity to impress sophisticated European audiences with New Zealand's fine food, wine, technical expertise, and innovation, ensuring that not only our sporting profile is raised in Europe, but our overall national brand as well," Helen Clark said.

www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0610/S00391.htm

SAIL TV BROADBAND BROADCASTER OF ISAF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2007
Sportshows Television, the TV production arm of internet TV specialists Narrowstep, together with Octagon CSI, has won the contract to provide the TV production and distribution of a top international sailing event in 2007. The International Sailing Federation's ISAF Sailing World Championships take place next year in Cascais, Portugal. Sail TV will be the broadband TV platform for the Championships.

Sportshows and Octagon CSI outbid more than nine leading production and distribution companies from around the world and will host and televise the event from June 28 to July 13 2007.

Sail TV managing director Andy Steward added: "Broadband TV channels are the future, and our sailing community around the world will welcome the opportunity of seeing the action live each day, as no other broadcast platform can offer so many hours devoted to the event in its scheduling. This is precisely why we launched the channel, and this deal underlines the unique global proposition we have established for the sport."

sail.tv

BRAVO!
Some lucky visitors to the Southampton Boat Show found they had an extra bonus this year. Those who came at the weekend had the opportunity to park their cars within easy walking distance, at a very competitive price and with the feel-good factor that the money they had paid had all gone to a very worthwhile cause.

Marie Follett and Steve Russell of Group 4 Securicor organised for Associated British Ports, Motorway Car Auctions, and P & O Cruises to donate the use of their car parks for both weekends of the Boat Show. With the help of editorial coverage from the Southern Daily Echo and signs quickly printed by Elmtree Signs the message was announced loud and clear. And the public responded!

The staggering 3941.96 pounds raised from this simple but highly effective venture will go towards helping improve the quality of life for cancer patients and their families, by providing sailing opportunities. It could fund 40 family places for a sailing day out or sailing weekends for 20 teenagers living with cancer. However it is spent though, it will give cancer patients and their families and carers a welcome respite from the relentlessness of living with this disease.

For more information about Sail 4 Cancer please see the website at www.sail4cancer.org

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR - This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Letters are limited to 350 words, and you may only write a single letter on a topic. No personal attacks are permitted. We do require your name but your email address will not be published.

* From Janet Baxter, President, US Sailing: Great to see that Gary Jobson will host the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year awards ceremony. Gary has been a superb emcee at the awards luncheon for US SAILING's Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year awards. Established in 1961 and sponsored by Rolex Watch USA since 1980, the award is presented with excitement and sentiment. We're excited that he'll return again for the 2006 awards presentation at the New York Yacht Club and look forward to the events in Helsinki.

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Brokerage through Farr Yacht Sales: www.FarrYachtSales.com

THE LAST WORD
I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it. -- Thomas Jefferson

OC Events, organisers of two major IMOCA 60 oceanic events, the new double-handed Barcelona World Race 2007, and the original solo transocean race, The Transat 2008 (ex-OSTAR) www.ocevents.org

Over 80,000 boats for sale on www.boats.com

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