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STAMM ROUNDS CAPE HORN IN HUGE SEAS
By mid-afternoon yesterday, Velux 5 Oceans race leader, Bernard Stamm, had lined-up Cheminees Poujoulat for a tight rounding of Cape Horn, heading due east 90 miles west of the world's southernmost cape. Shortly before 21:30 UTC last night, the Swiss skipper scorched passed the Horn on a single gybe at 16 knots, leaving the infamous island to port: "Cape Horn was rough, but I could see the rock very well," he reported this morning. After sailing over 4,000 miles of bottomless Pacific Ocean abyss, Stamm encountered harsh conditions as the sea bed rose to just 68 metres off the cape: "The waves became very big when I arrived in the shallow water," he continued, " and the wind had blown up to 50 knots."

The 05:08 UTC position poll places Stamm 44 miles south of Isla de Los Estados, north-east of Cape Horn in the South Atlantic. Overnight, Cheminees Poujoulat has banked an extra 57 miles over Spirit of Yukoh in second place: this lead of 1,800 miles is the probable reason for Stamm's decision to avoid slipping through the Le Maire Strait, a narrow and dangerous 15 mile wide channel between mainland Argentina and the Isla de Los Estados, opting instead for the longer route and continuing north-east.

"A grey mist on the sea's face and a grey dawn breaking," wrote Sir Robin Knox-Johnston this morning, quoting from John Masefield's poem, 'Sea-Fever'. However, this calm narrative distorts the fact that Knox-Johnston has had a gruelling night. The headboard car attaching the top of the mainsail to the mast track on SAGA Insurance has broken.

Knox-Johnston has made a temporary fix and is now able to sail with a small area of mainsail, hoisted to just below the third reef. With reduced sail, SAGA Insurance has lost 24 miles overnight on fourth place A Southern Man - AGD and now trails the yellow Open 50 by 80 miles in terms of Distance To Leader. Knox-Johnston reported a south-westerly Force 6 (22-27 mph), gusting to Force 7 (28-33 mph) with frequent squalls and will continue repair work when conditions allow.

www.velux5oceans.com

THE ISAF WORLD SAILING RANKINGS
Changes abound as six new crews hit the top spots in the latest release of the ISAF World Sailing Rankings on 7 February. Unmoved despite the reshuffle are the Brits, who retain all three of their Ranking leaders and are still the top performing nation, but they now have Australia and Germany right behind them.

It is no surprise to see Great Britain hold onto their place as the top nation in the Rankings. The GBR team completed one of their most successful years ever on the Olympic Classes circuit in 2006 and then began 2007 with five medals at the ISAF Grade 1 Rolex Miami OCR in the USA.

Even though there have been major changes in virtually every class, Paul Goodison (GBR), Christina Bassadone and Saskia Clark (GBR) and Nick Dempsey (GBR) all managed to maintain their world #1 status in the Laser, Women's 470 and Men's RS:X Rankings. To add emphasis to this success, Goodison and Bassadone and Clark now jointly hold the honour of being the longest leaders on the Rankings, having occupied the top spots since 31 May 2006.

Behind the Brits, it is a terrific Ranking release for both Australia and Germany. Neither nation had one Ranking leader throughout the entirety of 2006, but now each have two. Darren Bundock and Glenn Ashby (AUS) predictably take the Tornado top spot after building on a sensational year in the multihull with a win in Miami. More of a surprise are new leaders Mathew Belcher and Nick Behrens (AUS) in the Men's 470, Jan-Peter Peckolt and Hannes Peckolt (GER) in the 49er and Ulrike Schuemann, Ute Hoeptner and Julia Beck (GER) in the Yngling. These three crews gain the top spots after two years of finishing consistently around or amongst the medals in some of their class' toughest fleets.

With Jonas Hoegh-Christensen (DEN) and Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada (BRA) unmoved as the world #1s in the Finn and Star Rankings respectively, the other new leaders come from Spain and Belgium. Twenty-one year old Marina Alabau (ESP) is back as the world #1 in the Women's RS:X after recovering from Medal Race heartbreak at the Worlds last year to secure the OCR title with a bullet in Miami. Another 21 year old hits the summit in the Laser Radial, with European Champion Evi Van Acker (BEL) gaining the world #1 spot for the first time.

Next up for the Olympic Classes is the ISAF Grade 1 Singapore Airlines Sail Auckland, which begins in New Zealand this Friday 9 February. The windsurfing line up looks particularly strong, highlighted by long-time Olympic rivals Alessandra Sensini (ITA) and Barbara Kendall (NZL) facing off in the RS:X. The Laser and Laser Radial fleets are also packed with talent and will give the Kiwis a chance to catch up with their Australian rivals in the Rankings.

The next Rankings release will be on 7 March 2007, following the ISAF Grade 2 Athens Eurolymp Week.

Find complete rankings for the Olympic Classes at sailing.org

DUN LAOGHAIRE CHAMPIONSHIP AND SOVEREIGNS WEEK REGATTA
Cork based Sovereign Sailing has a race prepared 40.7 available for Dun Laoghaire Regatta Championship, Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Offshore and Sovereigns Week, Kinsale. This boat has recorded some impressive results both internationally and on Irish waters, the most recent been a class win in the 2006 Round Ireland Race (Ireland's West).

Charter is also available for all Irish regattas, Kinsale-Fastnet-Kinsale and Calves Week all forming part of the West Cork circuit. Berths are also available on a skippered Sigma 38 for Sovereigns Week.

Do check out their website for full details:
www.sovereignsailing.com

EXPANDING IMOCA 60 CLASS APPOINTS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Gregoire Metz has been appointed Executive Director for IMOCA, and will take up this position full time from April 2nd. Supported by the Class Secretary, Isabelle Jacquet, this full time team are expected to significantly increase the professionalism and efficiency of the IMOCA 60 governing body, as the demands of its members, skippers, sponsors, event organisers and the media continue to increase.

Metz, originally from Belgium, is fluent in French, English, Dutch and Spanish - a key requirement of the ever more international Class - and he comes with a wide range of experience in the professional sailing world, including time in the international marine industry with Spinlock in the 1990's, campaign management experience with the Belgacom ORMA 60 campaign, race management experience as Vendee Globe 2004 deputy race director, and most recently as project Manager for Vincent Riou's new PRB IMOCA project.

Supported by Isabelle Jacquet, Metz's role will be extensive in developing the professionalism of the Class, its external relationships, and the benefits derived for its members. Metz will report directly to the elected Executive Committee, who are all volunteers drawn from IMOCA projects. Whilst progress in the past few years has been significant, relying on the voluntary time of otherwise extremely busy skippers and project managers has held the Class back. This appointment is being funded initially by increased financial commitment of the Active Members of the Class, but it is expected that a number of Class Partners will be signed in 2007 to move the Class on to a new financial footing allowing it to develop at a similar rate to the spectacular growth in IMOCA race campaigns in the past 2 years.

www.imoca.org

QUARTER TON CLASS
The revitalised Quarter Ton Class is growing with an increasing number of sailors searching out classic Quarter Tonners to refit and race in this exciting and fun fleet. The Royal Corinthian Yacht Club Cowes has led the Quarter Ton revival and today the Club is delighted to announce a three year sponsorship deal for leading international private bank Coutts to support the Quarter Ton Class for the 2007 to 2009 seasons.

Coutts first got involved with the Quarter Tonners in 2006 when it sponsored Darren Marston's beautifully restored "Catch" and became a day sponsor of the Quarter Ton Cup. The three year sponsorship will cover the production of a new website as well as title sponsorship of the Quarter Ton event in Cowes each year. The new Coutts sponsored Quarter Ton Class web site is now live at www.quartertonclass.org and will carry regularly updated information about the class, events, boats for sale, the latest restoration projects, how-to and tuning tips, etc.

The Coutts Quarter Ton Cup 2007 will be hosted by the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club at its historic Cowes Clubhouse from 8-10 June, keeping the involvement of Red Funnel which has supported this regatta since its inception. The regatta will be open to Quarter Tonners of all generations and racing will take place under IRC in the central Solent with nine races planned over three days.

Ed Dubois' Enigma team will be back to defend the title which they took in 2006 and Neil Kennefick, Joxer O'Brien and Ron Holland will once again bring the legendary Manzanita across the Irish Sea to compete alongside teams from across the UK and France.

Two dedicated Quarter Ton events have been organised, one in Benodet in Brittany, France where the fleet will race for the Obelix Trophy at the end of April and the other in Jersey in September. Details of these events will be published on the website shortly.

www.quartertonclass.org
www.rcyc.co.uk

LIFE AT THE EXTREME
Life At The Extreme, the official book of the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06, chronicles over eight months of relentless competition in the world's most menacing of oceans.

Author and broadcaster Rob Mundle together with the world's best sailing photographers have captured every angle of the world's top offshore sailors doing battle over 31,500 nautical miles. The highs, the lows, the hardships in the quest for the overall prize - the Fighting Finish Trophy.

With over 150 pages of words and pictures, Life At The Extreme is available to buy online at http://www.volvooceanrace.org/booksanddvds or from leading high street book stores.

NEW OPEN 60 FOR ARTEMIS RACING TEAM The Artemis Ocean Racing team will this year be building a state of the art Open 60, designed by Rogers Yacht Design Ltd.

The plans for the new boat, which is being built to compete in the 2008 Vendee Globe, are currently well underway. The 'philosophy' of the boat has been established and an extensive tank testing session is due to start shortly; the results will then be analyzed alongside CFD and weather routing data. Simon Rogers brings more than 17 years of knowledge and experience to the design of this boat. His previous projects have included work on some of the worlds leading yachts, both large and small, most recently a revolutionary America's Cup style 20' disabled and able bodied yacht, the Artemis 20. This boat is currently hitting the headlines in aiming to vie for Para Olympic selection for 2012.

The new Open 60 is scheduled to be launched in early January 2008.

www.artemisoceanracing.com

WANTED - YACHT RACING STARS OF THE FUTURE...
UKSA are looking for fit, enthusiastic young sailors aged between 18 and 25 to take part in the Yacht Racing Academy's free crew selection days taking place in Cowes on 24 - 25 March and 31 March – 1 April 2007. Successful candidates will be invited to return for the Academy's two-week training camp commencing on the 1st April which aims to develop individual talent within a team environment, creating two racing crews for the Academy's Farr 52 racing yachts, Bear of Britain and Chernikeeff 2 for the 2007 racing season.

Once again, the Yacht Racing Academy is taking place thanks to the generosity of Peter Harrison, who shares the late Kit Hobday's vision of a high performance youth racing training scheme and has provided Chernikeeff 2 for the Academy's use. Another man who cares passionately about British youth racing is Andrew Palmer, owner of The Priory Bay Hotel on the Isle of Wight. He purchased Bear of Britain from the Hobdays and has kindly allowed the yacht to continue to be used by the Academy to help produce new British racing talent. UKSA continue to run and manage the Yacht Racing Academy, utilising the shore side facilities at its Cowes base, its fleet of yachts, support vessels and its team of expert staff.

To apply to take part in the 2007 selection days visit www.yachtracingacademy.org and complete the application form or contact Ben Willows of UKSA on 01983 294941 for more information.

MAREMMA'S CLUB NAUTICO SCARLINO KICKS OFF THE SAILING SEASON
Scarlino, Italy: The Club Nautico Scarlino kicks off the sailing season with the Winter Regatta "Memorial Giorgio Falck" reserved for Swan 45s, which taking place from the 9th of February to the 11th of March. Match races, dinghy competitions and blue water regattas will continue throughout the year.

At least 12 Swan 45s coming from Italy, USA, Finland and Holland will face off at the Winter Regatta 2007 1st Memorial Giorgio Falck Trophy, Two series of races will take place: from the 9th to the 11th of February and from the 9th to the 11th of March.

This event is dedicated to the memory of Giorgio Falk, a great Italian navigator and magnate, world renowned for having brought Italian sailing in round-the-world racing. At the Swan 45 prize giving ceremony the Falk family will bring the historical boat Rolly Go to the Marina di Scarlino. This was the boat Falk and his crew raced in the Whitbread in 1977-1978. On this occasion the Club Nautico Scarlino will dedicate the sailing school to the memory of Giorgio Falk.

www.clubnauticoscarlino.com

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR - This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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* From Jeremy Greenaway: Now, would I be the LAST person to cast doubt on yet another 'first' claim . . . would I? But the scribes of the Taipei Times weren't much in evidence at the time, and TheDailySail and all who scribe in it were but little gleams in chicks' eyes when a rather personable gent with a nicely arranged assembly of Baltic treewood called Polonez actually did become the first Pole to complete a five capes tour - after setting another Polish first for a solo transatlantic crossing.

Kryszstof (usually known as Chris) Baranowski, then a celebrated Warsaw journalist and TV 'face', achieved that in the fourth Royal Western Yacht Club / The Observer Single Handed Transatlantic Race of 1972. He finished 12th overall in Polonez, a 45-foot monohull with a whacking great ketch rig, and gained more of a taste for the Big Blue Marble than the Big Red Screen. He set out after the finish in Newport, RI, on a singlehanded solo globe tour, which he completed back in Plymouth in 1973.

He does, however, have a rival claimant, as Chris was preceded three years earlier by Leonid Teliga. But Teliga went via the Panama Canal, while Cap'n Chris did it via the Horn. It's all there in his book about the voyage - 'Droga Na Horn'. Pardon the plug, but several of the pix in it are mine, and seeing as the copyright fees were in the old Soviet Era zlotys (paid into a Warsaw bank account, Chris assured me), any additional book sales via Amazon might still help contribute towards a boar-hunting trip to Zakopane. Chris completed a second Capes circumnavigation in 1999/2000 in his sloop Lady B, has shipped as Master in several of Poland's sail training vessels and square riggers, and is hauling a taut cable to his big Seven O back in Polonia.

Nazdrave, Krys !

THE LAST WORD
Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing. -- Abraham Lincoln

OC Events, www.ocevents.org , 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) plus the Extreme 40 Sailing Series for The iShares Cup.

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

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