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DALTON PLUNGES BELOW 56 DEGREES SOUTH
After a dive south last night, Graham Dalton is holding the southern station in the trio of tightly packed boats closing on Cape Horn: "With everyone converging, it's down to straight-line speed and it's pure bloody waterline length, which we haven't got," said Dalton in a call the Velux 5 Oceans race organisation this morning. At 56 degrees South, his Open 50, A Southern Man -AGD, is already below the latitude of the world's southernmost cape: "I'm a bit further south than I'd like," Dalton admitted candidly, "it may be not a bad thing, but we'll gybe in about 10 hours," he said, confirming that his heading towards Antarctica would soon halt.

With Unai Basurko 70 miles ahead in third place and Sir Robin Knox-Johnston 31 miles in front holding fourth place, the Kiwi skipper has no illusions as to the disadvantages of racing a smaller boat: "It's one thing to keep in touch and catch-up in a 50 footer, it's another trying to pass. In a straight line, to pass is very, very difficult." Dalton continued, explaining the difference in performance between an Open 50 and a larger Open 60: "We aren't equally matched. It's like racing a Mini against a Jaguar. They might both have had work done to the engines, but one is a hell of a lot quicker." ] During the last edition of this race in 2002-03, Dalton raced an Open 60 and had a troubled time in the Eastern Pacific and around Cape Horn, eventually dismasting north-west of the Falkland Islands. "We've passed the spot last time where my boom snapped, so that's one out of the way," he commented dryly, "I would say at the moment I've got two broken fingers from a knock-down. I've got them strapped together. They are badly broken, so I haven't got out of these waters unscathed," Dalton reported. "It's hard to work with them strapped-up. You can't wear a glove on that hand, obviously, but that's just the way it is."

* Unai Basurko's biggest cause for concern at present is over an alarming noise coming from his propeller. Obviously engine propulsion is banned during the Velux 5 Oceans but boats must be fitted with engines for reasons of safety as well as a means of charging the batteries on some boats. There are several alternatives of folding prop but the one favoured on Open 60s is a two blader where when they are not being used, the blades of the prop can stream aft, hinged at the end of the shaft.

Unai believes the noise may be occurred because one of the folding blades may have broken off. "I can't close it properly," said Unai, "and it is very noisey. I must dive one day or just have a look, but I am not happy with that because it is maybe one knot less of speed. At the moment I think I lost one blade in the rough weather as the waves rolled under the hull."

www.velux5oceans.com

THE NEW GAME IN OFFSHORE RACING
Following Phil Sharp's superb win in last year's Route du Rhum, another wave of UK sailors are joining what is the fastest growing keel boat class around at the moment: the Class 40.

Owen Clarke seem to be the designers of choice for UK Class 40 campaigns. Following on from Jonathan Crinion's Friends of the Earth and Ian Munslow's Bollands Mill (sadly this property developer sponsor has pulled the plug and the boat has been sold to the US) so Miranda Merron and Fidessa Fastwave co-owner Peter Harding have the third boat to come from this run out of the South African yard, Jaz Marine. Meanwhile in Cowes six of the Owen Clarke-designed Express 40s are on order including one going to Plymouth-based sailor Stuart Dodd who will race her in this year's Azores and Back Race.

Last but not least - yet another Owen Clarke design is currently under construction just outside of Totnes in darkest Devon for Alex Bennett. 30 years old, Bennett seems to have been around the shorthanded offshore sailing scene forever. He finished a creditable fifth in the Mini Transat in 1999. He was one of Pete Goss' elite on board the maxi-cat Team Philips for its short life and won his class in the Transat Jacques Vabre in 2001 in Goss' Open 50. Bennett embarked on another campaign for the 2005 Mini Transat but was put out of the vital running to get qualified when his yacht was dismasted. Now Bennett like so many others, is turning his hand to the new game in offshore racing.

Interview with Alex Bennett on TheDailySail:
www.thedailysail.com/ism/Articles.nsf/Features/E0BFE68AC042A6C48025728200021DC3?OpenDocument

SALES ROLE AT SELDEN
UK based SELDEN MASTS Ltd are expanding their sales team to meet increased demand for their Dinghy, Keelboat and Yacht spars in both Carbon and Aluminum. They are looking for an enthusiastic and organised Sales Executive to manage all aspects of key accounts. They will be able to develop new business whilst providing a first class service to existing customers. The ideal candidate will have experience of selling within the marine industry and be an experienced sailor with a background in Dinghy Racing and preferably with a knowledge of Yachts.

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RESCUED YACHTSMAN'S VESSEL FOUND
A Shetland yachtsman who sparked an international rescue has been told that his boat has been found. Andrew Halcrow, 47, was 350 miles south west of Australia when he was struck down with pain in December.

He was able to ring girlfriend Alyson Keillor at their home in Shetland 10,000 miles away and asked her to get medical help via coastguards. His yacht Elsi Arrub has been spotted 170 miles off Australia. The plan is for a boat to tow the yacht to land.

Mr Halcrow was airlifted off a ship which had come to his aid and taken to hospital where he had his appendix removed.

His girlfriend had contacted Shetland Coastguard who raised the alarm.

The UK Coastguard liaison station in Falmouth, Cornwall, was contacted and officers got in touch with their Australian counterparts in Canberra who sent out a spotter plane.

The aircraft found Mr Halcrow's yacht and the nearby tanker the Elegant Princess was sent to his aid.

Mr Halcrow left Shetland in June to sail single-handed around the world. The trip was expected to take him a year to complete.

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/north_east/6358025.stm

NZ'S RICHEST MAN IN HEROIC RESCUE
New Zealand's richest man, Graeme Hart, a former tow-truck driver and panel beater who left school at 16, has been labelled a hero after rescuing three people and a dog from a burning yacht in Auckland, reports several New Zealand news sources.

Graeme Hart, owner of the Rank Group, apparently took his own boat out to rescue the people, whose vessel was engulfed in flames after a faulty gas refrigerator sparked a fire which spread throughout the boat. All the victims were treated for burns, while the dog had a burnt nose.

Northern Region Coastguard duty officer Katherine Andrews told NZPA today Mr Hart had made the coastguard's job easier for them. 'Rather than picking up bodies we were dealing with the fire.'

Fire chief for the island Ron Leonard said: 'I understand he took his own boat and rescued the three people and the dog and took them to another wharf where emergency services picked them up.'

It is understood the three people may have abandoned the boat and been in the water when Mr Hart reached them.

True to form, the reclusive Hart and his company declined to comment.

www.sail-world.com/indexs.cfm?nid=30621

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 www.volvooceanrace.org/booksanddvds or from leading high street book stores.

NEW LOOK SAIL TV
You may have noticed that the video player at Sail.TV has changed. We've upgraded the player and this latest version offers some great new features which we are sure will improve your viewing experience whilst giving you more content and more choice.

- The player now launches immediately without the need to navigate through the preview page
- The new player is Mac compatible (Mac users may need to install "flip4mac" to view video which can be downloaded quickly and free of charge at www.flip4mac.com)
- Sail TV now offers viewers a range of sub-channels to cover all aspects of sailing and powerboats. More sub-channels will be added and updated over the coming weeks.
- In addition to the looping schedule, viewers can access certain programmes and features immediately on each sub-channel via the On Demand listings.
- Improved picture quality and video streaming
- In addition to the looping schedule, viewers can access certain programmes and features immediately on each sub-channel via the On Demand listings.
- Sail TV has teamed up with SailingNetworks ( www.sailingnetworks.com ) to bring viewers the latest social networking opportunities. Keep in touch with friends, find old and new crew mates and keep up to date with the year's sailing calendar, news, reports and photos.

www.sail.tv

SHORT TACKS
* Over Easter weekend (April 6 - 9) Yachting World will be moving to their new HQ, The Blue Fin Building at Bankside in SE London, right next door to the Tate Modern gallery. In the meantime they have to do an awful lot of clearing out so they're lean and clean when they arrive.

As part of this they need to get rid of some duplicate bound volumes of Yachting World, mainly 1992 - 2003. These are available free to anyone who is able to collect. All they ask is for a donation either to the RNLI or to Sail4Cancer. If you're interested please call Jo on 44 (0)20 7261 6800 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

* Mike Golding this morning received his OBE from Her Majesty the Queen at an Investiture Ceremony at Buckingham Palace. Mike was awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours List for services to the sport of sailing.

Mike has raced some 250,000 miles around the world. He has had five circumnavigations and currently holds 4 world records, as well as being the IMOCA and FICO World Champion, the former for the second year in succession.

Mike was joined at the Palace by his wife Andrea and his parents.

* Following unanimous agreement of the AC 32 "Competitors" (all Challengers and the Defender), ACC Technical Director Ken McAlpine (AUS) has issued two amendments to the AC Class Rule. Amendment No. 4 bans the use of masthead sails in the pre-start. Amendment No. 5 clears up confusion over the use of staysails when a spinnaker is not set, e.g., when the yacht is taking a penalty or the spinnaker has blown out.

Also, the Measurement Committee chaired by Mr McAlpine has issued Public Interpretation No. 31 concerning backstays. -- Tom Ehman, challengercommission.com

Amendment No. 4: www.challengercommission.com/dox/ACCAmend4.pdf
Amendment No. 5: www.challengercommission.com/dox/ACCAmend5.pdf
Public Interpretation No. 31: www.challengercommission.com/dox/PI31.pdf

* Sports Boat Rule 2007 and Nautor's Swan Rating 2007 rule & forms are now available on the Royal Ocean Racing Club's Rating Office website: rorcrating.com

* The [Oracle BMW Racing] rig and shore teams' speedy recovery from Thursday's mast breakage on USA 71 had the guys back on the water Friday morning. With a new rig into the yacht by 0900, the sailing team did not miss a beat as Dicko & Co. logged another day of two-boat sailing on the Hauraki Gulf in New Zealand.

This was a race rig so we are disappointed as the piece that broke should not have broken, but we are pleased we discovered this weak link now during our race training. Sten Mohr, Bertrand Pace and the crew on board USA 71 showed great seamanship by responding quickly, minimizing the damage and getting the boat and crew safely back to shore.

The guys are not sailing over the weekend so we will finish out this session with five days on the water next week. We will provide a report when the sailing session wraps next Friday. -- Jane Eagleson, bmworacleracing.twoday.net/stories/3305532/

* Whitby lifeboat station was stunned to find a huge cash donation posted through their letterbox last week. A crumpled paper bag pushed through the letterbox of the Yorkshire lifeboat station turned out to contain more than 3,000 pounds in cash from a mystery benefactor.

The anonymous donation - nearly thrown away as rubbish by the crew - was posted direct to Whitby Lifeboat Museum, which is being used by the lifeboatmen during work to build a new boathouse.

There was no note attached with the money and lifeboat Press officer Pete Thomson is hoping the donor will come forward so they can be thanked. He said: "It is not unusual for people to drop donations through the letterbox but we have never had anything like this before.' -- Yachting Monthly, www.ybw.com/auto/newsdesk/20070114164525ymnews.

* NZL 84 signs off to Auckland on the last day of Emirates Team New Zealand's summer sailing programme in Auckland.

Instead of towing the yacht from the gulf to the Viaduct Harbour base, sailing crew sailed NZL 84 up the Harbour under spinnaker as a salute to the city.

Since mid-October, the team has been testing NZL 84 and NZL 92, spending six or more hours on the Hauraki Gulf, five or six days a week.

The end of testing in Auckland signals the start of the final phase of the team's preparations for the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger series which starts in Valencia on April 16.

The team is now packing gear and preparing the race yachts for a flight to Spain in an Antonov cargo aircraft. Early next week the aircraft will be loaded. The flight to Valencia will take more than 50 hours.

Team members move progressively to Spain and will be fully operational there in early March.

www.emiratesteamnz.com

CAMET ANNOUNCES NEW TECHNICAL SHORTS
Camet International Clothing expands their line of technical gear by announcing their new Hobart Extreme Technical Shorts. Designed to be the lightest shorts on the market, they weigh in at only 9 ounces, and are designed with offset side seams to reduce chafing. The improved design provides extreme flexibility, while the Titanium silver nylon fabric has a durable water repellent finish that dries quickly, and has a UV rating of 40+. Features include two back pockets with Velcro closures, adjustable Velcro waist, two deep side-pockets, and a Cordura-reinforced seat for added protection from abrasive surfaces.

View all the Camet products: www.camet.com/?Click=122

SPEED MACHINE TO QUIT BRITAIN?
British weather in the winter - what is it good for? Not even speed sailing, it seems. Our unstable conditions have put the brakes on the UK-based SailRocket project, which Australian sailor Paul Larsen and British engineer Malcolm Barnsley designed to try break the elusive 50-knot speed barrier, a goal that has become sailing's most challenging technical quest. This has become such a serious difficulty that Larsen is looking at the practicalities of quitting Britain for the steady tradewinds of Walvis Bay, Namibia.

Since being launched in 2004, SailRocket has been based in Weymouth. It was fitted with a wingsail this autumn as part of the next phase of development. "We've sailed with the solid wing four times and done just under five minutes of continuous sailing, but we've already got it up to 31 knots," says Larsen. "The trouble is the wind has been super-strong. We might get 10 knots for an hour and then it's up to 30 and very squally. It's too volatile an area and time of year. We want a regular 20-22 knots."

From Elaine Bunting's blog:
www.yachtingworld.com//yw/blog/20070026120233blog_elaine_bunting.html

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. No personal attacks are permitted. We do require your name but your email address will not be published without your permission.

* From Mikel Emaldi: I've just received the latest issue of Seahorse, which praises IRC regarding the Sydney-Hobart regatta since a couple very old sailing boats win under handicap, because the IRC provides equal opportunities to old and new boats.

Yet it is clear to everybody that the skill of the sailors in Oats, Yendys, Ichi Ban, Skandia, etc., is a lot higher than that in the boats winning under IRC, the sails are worlds apart as are the boats themselves, therefore it is clear that the Rule is not as FAIR as pretended since the "good" boats are defeated.

It is true that such wide boatspeed differences in such a long race lead to boats sailing under different conditions, but the claim that the rule is fair since the underdogs can beat the stars is widely overstated. I would say that what it shows is that the rule is unfair.

This is in fact one of the reasons why I don't like long races. A lottery is one thing, a sailboat race should be different. You might have guessed that I don't like IRC either.

The other thing is that I've never seen published the fact that the Spanish Med has abandoned IRC. Yet any move from IMS to IRC is widely publicized.

THE LAST WORD
Those who flee temptation generally leave a forwarding address. -- Lane Olinghouse

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.

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