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ROUTE DU RHUM: LEMONCHOIS CLOSES IN
He has been leading since the start, not making one mistake in the management of his race. Lionel Lemonchois should be landing on the isle of "La tete a l'Anglais" around 10:00 PM Sunday - weather permitting - and will have to round the Islands for a finish early Monday morning (French time).

ORMA 60 multihulls
If we assume an ETA on Monday at 13:02 (French time), the record of the Atlantic crossing will be cut to 8 days instead of the 12 days, 8 hours by Laurent Bourgnon in 1998. The average speed of Gitana XI was 22.7 knots over the last 24 hours with a run of 543 miles. Lionel Lemonchois' opponents are becoming dumbfounded by his management of the entire race...so far. But there are still a few miles to run and Guadeloupe itself to wind around before arriving in Point a Pitre. Pascal Bidegorry (Banque Populaire), lost ground during the night (40 miles). The north option taken by Thomas Coville paid off. He is now in 3rd - climbing up 2 places in the ranking - benefiting from the problems onboard Geant that are slowing down Michel Desjoyeaux, and the option to the south of Yvan Bourgnon (Brossard). Steve Ravussin (Orange Project), was back on the road yesterday after repairs and is now dealing with unsteady winds.

IMOCA 60 monohulls
Roland Jourdain is back in the lead today. He took an option to the south after he had passed the Azores, and the strategy has started to pay off since last night. His lead over Jean Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec) and Jean le Cam (VM Materiaux) has increased regularly. The boats are now in a transition zone between the ridge of a high-pressure zone and a small low-pressure system. This situation can change, once again, in the next few days as there are still 1500 miles to their goal. Anne Liardet is now in 6th position after Armel Le Cleac'h (Brit Air) began making an attempt on a more westerly route.

40-footer monohulls
Gildas Morvan (Oyster funds) remains the leader of a split fleet: several options are now showing up on the map. Phil Sharp, 2nd (after D. Vittet's pit stop in the Azores), is leading the pack that is headed west, on a northern route to fetch fresher winds from the North. Dominic Vittet (Atao Audio System) dived South to grab the remaining Trade Winds.

Gildas Morvan (Oyster Funds), is navigating his road in between those two extremes, and seems to stay as close as possible of the layline, as with most of the fleet it seems. These options are the perfect picture of what the weather configuration offers in terms of tactics: the Azores' high-pressure system is back in its usual position, a low-pressure system positionned on the Northwest of the Caribbean which is weakening the Trade Winds.

Monohull Class 1
Kip Stone is increasing his lead on the most direct route. Behind him are Servane Escoffier and Luc Coquelin, taking an option towards the West, Northwest. Denis Douillez is approaching the Azores.

Multihull Class 2,3
Some 721 miles separates Crepes Whaou! (F.Y Escoffier) and Negoceane, but they all sail in the same transitional weather pattern, along with the 40-footers. The situation will be the same until tomorrow.

Loic Escoffier (Deleage & Diazo), who is sailing at the tail end of the fleet, with 800 miles deficit on his father, might not slow down as he heads west to make use of northern winds from a low-pressure system and hopes to gain some miles on the fleet.

Class leaders at press time:

Monohulls:
IMOCA: Roland Jourdain, Sill et Veolia
Classe 1: Pierre-Yves Guennec, Jeunes Dirigeants
Classe 2: Kip Stone, Artforms
Classe 3: Michel Kleinjans, Roaring Forty
Classe 40: Gildas Morvan, Oyster Funds

Multihulls
ORMA: Lionel Lemonchois, Gitana 11
Classe 2: Franck-Yves Escoffier, Crepes Whaou !
Classe 3: Pierre Antoine, Imagine-Institut des Maladies Genetiques

www.routedurhum-labanquepostale.com

* We are happy to inform you that you can now see at www.martin-Raget.com the very first photos of the arrival of Lionel Lemonchois, Gitana 11 skipper near Guadelupe shores

Those pics were taken 50 miles from land. Lionel Should cross the line winning the Route du Rhum later today with a fascinating crossing time that should be less that 8 days, 4 days less that the previous record.

He was so fast that all the press was still in the plane coming from Paris when those pictures were taken. -- Gilles Martin-Raget

VELUX 5 OCEANS
The leading pack in the Velux 5 Oceans have continued to reel in the distance to frontrunner, Bernard Stamm as Cheminees Poujoulat remains glued to the Doldrums, today. Kojiro Shiraishi and Spirit of Yukoh have stolen 23 miles from Stamm since this morning's 05:32 UTC poll and now lie 250 miles behind the Swiss skipper.

Mike Golding has made a small dent on the leader's advantage today bringing Ecover 410 miles behind Cheminees Poujoulat. Most surprising, however, are the gains made by Alex Thomson, taking 41 miles from Golding since dawn: this is doubly impressive as Thomson spent last night weaving through the Cape Verde Islands. For both of the British skippers, the next few days will be critical as the pair enter the Doldrums.

With 540 miles to the Equator, Kojiro Shiraishi is beginning to roast on Spirit of Yukoh. In a message to the Velux 5 Oceans race office he described grim conditions aboard: "It is very hot inside the boat now. The regular temperature is 32 degrees and then I turn on the engine for charging and it gets to almost 40 degrees. We have a bit of headwind at the moment, and so the waves over the bow mean I have to keep the forehatch closed and air circulation is terrible. Between the humidity and engine noise, it is a scorching hell!"

Latest position report:

1. Cheminees Poujoulat, Bernard Stamm, 8506 nm to finish
2. Spirit of Yukoh, Kojiro Shiraishi, 250 nm to leader
3. Ecover, Mike Golding, 410
4. Hugo Boss, Alex Thomson, 521
5. SAGA Insurance, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, 1434
6. A Southern Man-AGD, Graham Dalton, 1820
7. Pakea, Unai Basurko, 1964

velux5oceans.com

SHIPMENT OF TWIRLYBIRD V FROM GENOA TO SINGAPORE
Twirlybird V, a 42.5m, 220,000kgs sailing ketch chooses Complete Freight to ship from Genoa to Singapore. Complete Freight, together with Luerssen Yachts (the builders), Ron Holland (the designers) and the owner have been involved in every step from the design of the cradle to the engineering behind the complex lifting arrangement. Twirlybird was lifted direct from the water utilising a total of four 600mm slings, two of which were positioned under the keel. The loading took place mid-October and she has discharged in Singapore just 22 days later. For further details and photos please refer to the Complete Freight website.

www.completefreight.com

GUEST EDITORIAL: MIKE SHARPE
Although it is somewhat interesting reading about the multitude of single-handed events that dominate the Scuttlebutt Europe pages, it is continually anti-climactic as we read about boats withdrawing or heading to Port for repairs with boat and rig failures that force them out of the competition.

Speeds drop and averages fall as skippers attempt one-man repairs, and the event falls apart from the perspective of public interest, especially from race oriented, interested readers. Usually a re-start after repairs achieves nothing for sponsor or skipper. As in F1 racing, if a team is out early, interest is lost by those fans, and sponsor disappointment is profound, but at least there is another Grand Prix 2 weeks later. Not so in long distance racing, where the next event is a couple of years off. It must be a hopeless situation for sponsors, when your yacht is out early. It could be a significant factor in sponsor withdrawal and resistance to commitment for the future. Why would you come back into the game? We need to see most boats finish and remain competitive. Is single-handed racing about racing, or is it more about surviving?

When will the organizers, promoters and sponsors see the obvious, and stop flogging a dead horse? Try this idea on for size:

A simple change to more 2-handed racing would ensure more boats would finish the course, because there would be fewer withdrawals, or pit stops, due to the impossibility of 'one-man repairs'. Interest and competition during the race and at the finish would increase dramatically because more boats could keep racing to the finish, and the interest level would obviously increase, rewarding sponsors because the name of their boat remains in front of the public for much longer. Speeds would be up, and course averages would be higher. Daily runs? Oh yeah! Think of the potential for video up links and on-board filmed action. Stay with the same rules as they apply now to the various classes. Campaign cost would be almost unchanged for the boats, and crew costs would not be effected significantly.

Now the media have 2 individuals to report on and scrutinize, and imagine reporting on an event where the racing remains 'hot' to the finish!

Reading the report in the latest issue of Scuttlebutt Europe leaves me thinking "I wonder how many single-handers will withdraw for lack of some minor on-board assistance?" We can't be far off from seeing the day when some new event will attract 6 or 7 starters and no-one will be there for the prize-giving. Think I'm wrong? Watch these pages.

There are no more records of significance to be broken by single-handers that I can think of, and quite frankly, who really cares? It makes pretty boring reading what with repairs forcing withdrawals, a majority of which would probably not stop a 2 man crew from continuing racing, hard. I am not questioning the decision to retire or divert for repairs, but it is obvious from the stories I'm reading that many of the situations could be resolved by a 2 man crew, and the boat kept at sea.

Sponsors are on-board for public recognition of there name and product, that's it! Reading about a couple of boats hundreds of miles apart "racing for the win" is a bit of a bore. If you can't imagine the possibilities of 2 man racing, you must be sleeping.

Imagine the possibilities. How about Dalton & Dalton; Coutts & Butterworth; Some 'Froggie' & some other Froggie"; A couple of Poms; Cayard & Some-one; Fish & Sharpie; Dixon & Connors; Schumacher and Knox-Johnson. The list goes on and on. Maybe you can think of a 'pairing'. The promotional significance is unlimited, and maybe some of us would even recognize some of the names of the competitors!

Waddya say Fish? You up for it? Maybe we could get Aleve; Blue Cross; and BUPA to sponsor us. You'd be good for getting Viagra and Mount Gay on-board I'm sure.

THE FISH RESPONDS
It is wonderful what three days spent in my company can do for Sharpie's brain - it's working again! Maybe he has things right - I was never a great believer in single-handed racing and much preferred the challenge that two-handed racing provides. The Round Britain and Ireland was a particular favourite of mine and I had the opportunity to pair with Les Williams, Peter Phillips and Robin K-J for this race - all were unforgettable experiences, while what memories the single-handers have are generally of the hardships they endure.

Almost certainly the upper-crust of the short-handed brigade will have the ample opportunity to prove Sharpie right when the Barcelona World Race starts on November 11th next year. IMOCA also has the Fastnet on its racing calendar and what a wonderful shake-down this will provide for the "big one."

As to he and I doing any of this . . . his list of potential sponsors might indicate that we would need help, but I cannot understand why Viagra should come to our aid, all Australians (and he is one) would know that two lolly sticks and some duct tape is good enough! -- Bob Fisher

LADIES ONLY MATCH RACE
Hamburg/Germany: Twenty two year old Silke Hahlbrock needed only two victories in the best-of-three final to retain the trophyshe won last year. But the road was tough. The crew of Marion Rommel, Maren Hahlbrock and Kerstin Schult skippered by Hahlbrock won all races in the first round robin but had to duel the world champion in the Yngling class Ulrike Schuemann who turned out to be a tough competitor.

Strong winds and wet November weather characterised the last day of this year's Ladies Only on the river Alster.

1. Team Musto HSC, Silke Hahlbrock, GER
2. Team Schuemann, Ulrike Schuemann, GER
3. Team Gibson, Josie Gibson, GBR
4. Team Sail 4 Cancer, Gemma Farrell, GBR
5. Team Silja Lehtinen, Silja Lehtinen, FIN
6. Team Kemt, Suzanne Willim, GER
7. Team MisStral, Delphine Casas, FRA
8. Team Torell Gdansk, Maja Czarniawska, POL
9. Commune de Plougueneau, Julie Bossard, FRA
10. Team O'Loughlin, Mary O'Loughlin, IRL

www.hsc-hamburg.org/regatta/ladiesonly/

SYNERGY CATAMARAN MANAGEMENT
Catamaran specialists Synergy Yachting have been keeping us up to date with recent developments: In addition to their Fractional Ownership Program (a popular and intelligent form of yacht ownership) they have been expanding the Consultancy side of the business. A variety of clients worldwide are using Synergy to help with various aspects of catamaran ownership -whether this be the day to day management of a 60 footer in Majorca or the refit of a 100 footed in Australia. They are very experienced in project managing new builds, performing 'shake down' test sails, introducing yachts to charter, provide crew or any other requirement of the catamaran owner. Current clients include Sir Richard Branson and his wonderful all carbon catamaran Lady Barbaretta.

Contact them at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ++447760272303
synergyyachting.com

SEAHORSE SAILOR OF THE MONTH
Last month's winner:

Howard Hamlin (USA)
'US Sailing has never heard of Howard because he doesn't race Stars (lucky for US Star sailors) and will probably ignore him again when it comes to US Sailor of the Year... He has dominated US 505 sailing for years, won the worlds and finished 2nd more times than you can count, jumped into 18s and soon was at the top of that class, then got to the top of the 14s in record time' - Ali Meller.

This month's nominees:

Hamish Pepper & Carl Williams (NZL)
Nice recovery... after being 'let-go' by Team New Zealand during their annihilation at the hands of Alinghi, Pepper quietly got on with rebuilding his personal stature as a world class sailor. With victory against one of the toughest Star world championship fleets ever seen, Pepper and crew Carl Williams can now look anyone in the eye as equals; nice too for NZ Olympic manager Rod Davis.

Ian Williams (GBR)
Brave fella... with a rewarding legal career seemingly put on permanent hold, Ian Williams has campaigned tirelessly - and privately - to make an impact on the world match race circuit. After coming so close to a first big win last month, Williams took the final step in winning this year's Bermuda Gold Cup - the launch platform for quite a few successful America's Cup careers. Buy now while prices remain low...

Seahorse Sailor of the Month is sponsored by Harken McLube, Dubarry & Henri Lloyd.

Cast your vote at seahorsemagazine.com

A BORN WINNER
Although at 27 he was already recognised as an exceptional talent in a variety of sailboats - he was a world champion but that was in an 18ft Skiff - Rob Greenhalgh had done very little big boat offshore racing, let alone experience the hardship and stamina required to race around the world in the fastest monohulls ever built.

But Rob took his opportunity with both hands and trained and worked hard to succeed. Testament to his drive to succeed was evident in physical training and diet during training: his body weight went from 78kg to 90kg to give him the power required to be a force within the team. But Rob had one thing in common with his highly experienced team mates: he is a born winner and ABN AMRO ONE went on to win the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06 by a comfortable margin.

We caught up with Rob at his home in Hamble near Southampton, England and asked him about his experience on the ABN AMRO ONE team.

Q: You had the least amount of offshore experience in the ABN AMRO ONE team. Was that a major issue for you?

A: I joined ABN AMRO in February 2004 and skipper, Mike Sanderson was confident that I would fit into the team. He was right, but I was a little apprehensive as I had little experience in big boat offshore racing, but we did a lot of practice and training and everything came together well. I got into, got on with it and I really enjoyed the role.

Also as the Volvo Open 70 was a new class it wasn't just me saying: "strewth this thing is a bit of a weapon". Everybody was learning at the same speed. Maybe if we had been racing a Volvo Ocean 60, Moose (Mike Sanderson) would have picked some of the old guard, but the new class required different skills and there was no harm in having some new faces in there. -- Louay Habib for the Volvo Ocean Race

Full interview at: www.volvooceanrace.org/news/article/2006/november/robgreenhalgh/index.aspx

BRITISH CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY AWARD TO RYS BREAKWATER
A new breakwater for The Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS) in Cowes has won the British Construction Industry Small Civil Engineering Project Award at a ceremony held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London last week (26.10.06).

The breakwater was built by Ringwood-based Dean and Dyball Construction starting from a concept design and contract prepared for the RYS by Walcon Marine of Fareham. Commercial Marine and Piling, also based in Ringwood, Hampshire, were the specialist marine subcontractors.

The Commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron, Lord Iliffe, said: "The Royal Yacht Squadron members are delighted with the design of the Haven which fits so sympathetically with both the shoreline and the Castle. It also works well. It has already given shelter to more than six hundred members' and visitors' yachts."

The objective of the annual BCI Awards is to recognise excellence in the overall design, construction and delivery of buildings and civil engineering works. The Small Civil Engineering Project Award is for any civil engineering scheme valued at under 3 million pounds. A rigorous judging process assembles a panel of leading clients, designers, contractors and construction industry commentators to choose the winning projects. -- Peta Stuart-Hunt

www.rys.org.uk

THE LAST WORD
I can win an argument on any topic, against any opponent. People know this, and steer clear of me at parties. Often, as a sign of their great respect, they don't even invite me. -- Dave Barry

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

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