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SWE 96 WILL BE CALLED JARV
At the official SWE 96 party, Victory Challenge announced today the name of the new boat for the 32nd America's Cup.

It will be called Jarv. The jarv, or wolverine in English, is one of the least known predators which is remarkably strong for its size and often described as cunning.

By naming SWE 96 Jarv Victory Challenge continues its tradition of giving their America's Cup boats names from nature. The two boats built in Auckland, SWE 63 and SWE 73 were called Orn, eagle, and Orm , snake.

Apart from the choice of names and that they all belong to the America's Cup Class, there are no other similarities between the new boat and the original ones. (Even the class rules have changed since Auckland). "The boat has advanced in every single detail, and nothing remains form the old boats," said Mani Frers, who together with his father German Frers, led the design team.

The fact that Victory Challenge this time decided to build only one boat, and not two, has placed other requirements on the design team and the development programme. SWE 63 and SWE 73 have been used as part of this development, initially to adapt them to the new class rules, then later on - during the autumn of 2006 - to test new solutions for rigging, sail and deck layout.

The construction of the boat started on 14th June 2006, after four months of planning and preparations. The design process started during 2005.

Construction is taking place in Victory Challenge's boatbuilding yard at Lindholmen Science Park in Hisingen, Goteborg, in a cluster of high tech and development-intensive companies which have grown up in an area that was previously part of the city's mighty shipbuilding industry.

Last time, in the same boatyard, Victory Challenge used a male mould. Then the boat was built on a wooden plug, which was somewhat smaller than the actual boat to get the right size. It was quicker, but also required more finishing work with filler which, in turn, made the hull heavier.

This time a female mould was used. The boat, with one layer of carbon fibre, one layer with a honeycomb of kevlar, and another layer of carbon fibre, was built inside the mould.

For the construction he had 25 people on the boatbuilding team in Goteborg, with 14 different nationalities represented. -- Bert Willborg

victorychallenge.com

GOING FOR GOLD
Veronika Fenclova (CZE) will be a name to watch over the next 18 months. Last year the 26 year old enjoyed her best ever season in the Olympic Classes and was named as one of 20 sailors to receive scholarships from the IOC's Olympic Solidarity. Her Olympic dreams received another boast at the start of 2007 as she joined Athens silver medallist Lenka Smidova (CZE) in the new-look Czech 470 team.

As one of 20 sailors receiving a scholarship from the IOC's Olympic Solidarity, Fenclova has been able to intensify her training, attend last year's Worlds in the USA and dedicate more resources to her help fulfil her Olympic dreams.

With the 2007 ISAF Sailing World Championships and Olympic Qualification little over six months away, at the start of the year opportunity knocked.

Smidova had been sailing the 470 with Elizabeth Kratzig, but Kratzig is not yet a Czech citizen and the Czech Republic need to qualify for their Olympic place in the Women's 470 in Cascais.

Cue Fenclova. She and Smidova went to the USA for the ISAF Grade 1 Rolex Miami OCR. With just two weeks training together in Miami, the pair came in eighth overall, winning the Medal Race and finishing within 11 points of the podium. After such a promising start together, Fenclova decided to say goodbye to the Laser Radial and her and Smidova now have a busy scheduled leading up to the ISAF Sailing World Championships in Cascais, Portugal this July.

The next big regatta for the new pairing is the ISAF Grade 2 Princess Sofia Trophy, before the ISAF Grade 1 all Olympic Class regattas in Hyères and Medemblik leading up to the ISAF Worlds.

The aim of Olympic Solidarity is to organize aid to National Olympic Committees (NOC) recognized by the IOC, in particular those which have the greatest need of it. This aid takes the form of programmes between the IOC and the NOCs, in partnership with the International Sports Federations, if necessary. The scholarships' first objective is to allow the athletes to qualify and prepare themselves in the best conditions for the Olympic Games, in order to fulfil their dream.

The funding for the scholarships comes from the share of Olympic Games television rights revenue allocated to the NOCs and is managed by Olympic Solidarity. For the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, more than 900 individual scholarships (652 men and 282 women) were allocated to athletes from more than 140 National Olympic Committees (NOCs). Of those 900, 14 sailors were awarded Olympic Scholarships, amongst them Rodion Luka and Georgiy Leonchuk (UKR) who went on to win the silver medal in the 49er.

Twenty sailors have been selected for scholarships for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Find out more at www.sailing.org/olympicsolidarity

OGLETREE SWEEPS A-CAT WORLD QUALIFIER
Congratulations to Olympic Silver Medalist Charlie Ogletree, who swept the A Class Catamaran world qualifier event this past weekend at the Lake Eustis Sailing Club, Florida. Using the latest Ullman Sails A-Cat sail design, Charlie won all three races against 15 top competitors. Whether competing for Olympic medals or World championships, Ullman Sails provides the speed and reliability to achieve your goals.

For the "Fastest Sails on the Planet" contact your nearest Ullman Sails loft and visit www.ullmansails.com , the Multi-Hull Experts!

DALTON BOTH HAPPY AND CAUTIOUS ABOUT TEAM NZ'S PROGRESS
Team NZ are currently the top-ranked challenger, holding a minuscule two-point lead over Chris Dickson's American syndicate BMW Oracle Racing.

But the last month or so has seen some interesting comings and goings. Defenders Alinghi, who have been based in Dubai, hired Peter Gilmour as a coach, while the Spanish Challenge Desafio Espanol picked up well-regarded American Paul Cayard.

Oracle launched their second boat, USA98, in Auckland amid rumours their first boat, USA87, was going under the knife in Valencia. Although USA98 has some characteristics similar to Team NZ boats, Dalton said the more they see of it, the more they think it actually resembles USA87.

"It does carry some of the features (of our boats), but they ... have developed out of their old boat."

Dalton said Alinghi have also come up with some clever ideas.

"They are trying to solve the wind triangle - or the shear in the wind between the top of the mast and the bottom - quite cleverly, and that is quite a big deal in Valencia."

Dalton said the black boats are going faster than they were last year.

"It doesn't always follow that when you get new boats that the steps continue. We are pleased that we are still improving."

When asked if his team were ready for the gunfire, Dalton said they have been careful not to give their rivals any ammunition: "1992 (where Team NZ ended up a in messy spat over their bow sprit) proved we were a little soft.

"We have guys like (team director and Queen's Counsel) Jim Farmer who are pretty savvy, but from a design perspective we have tried not to put ourselves in a position where someone can have a crack at us."

www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=106&objectid=10424990

HSH NORDBANK BLUE RACE: SAFETY COMES FIRST
Hamburg, Germany: It will not be his first Atlantic crossing when Christoph von Reibnitz embarks on the HSH Nordbank blue race on 16 June this year. The full-blooded sailor has already crossed the pond "some 16 times". In 2003, he had been sailing the DaimlerChrysler North Atlantic Challenge (DCNAC) from Newport to Hamburg for the first time with his yacht Peter von Seestermuhe. The owner of the classic 17-metre yacht says: "Even though my crew and I have quite a bit of experience, I think that you just cannot practice enough for an emergency at sea. I welcome this safety training as a helpful refresher".

The seminar held by the Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Rettung Schiffbruchiger (DGzRS) in March will simulate the most common emergency cases on board in both theory and life-saving practice. "We offer the regatta teams an ISAF Offshore Personal Survival Training Course. It will be conducted by the DGzRS, also the official charity partner of the HSH Nordbank blue race, at their SAR training station in Neustadt/Holstein. This entails that the crews will be familiar with the technical SAR standards for emergencies.

The DGzRS seminar in Neustadt/Holstein on the Baltic coast will be held in both German and English language. If you are interested in on-site reporting, please let us know and we will be happy to arrange this. The English course will take place from 19 through 21 March 2007 to be followed by the German edition from 22 through 24 March 2007.

The HSH Nordbank blue race from Newport/Rhode Island, to Hamburg is due to set off on the 16th June 2007. The race is organised by the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (NRV), with the support of the New York Yacht Club (NYYC). Covering about 3600 nautical miles across the Atlantic, the route passes the United Kingdom to the north and then heads to Hamburg. The race is open to all monohull offshore yachts at least 40 feet in length.

For current photos, entry lists and more information:
www.hsh-nordbank-blue-race.com

CAN YOU PUT OLD WINE IN NEW BOTTLES?
William Koch is a seriously rich man. He owns works by Monet, Degas and Dalí. He sailed in the team that won the America's Cup in 1992, throwing a reported $65 million into the effort. And in the cavernous cellar of his Florida estate reside some of the world's most expensive wines.

Among them are four hand-blown bottles of Bordeaux dating back to 1784 and 1787, bearing the etching "Th.J". They were owned by Thomas Jefferson, then Ambassador to France and soon to become President of the United States of America.

On the basis of this distinguished provenance, Koch forked out half a million dollars for the four bottles. Now the billionaire energy tycoon has turned to science to determine whether he has been duped.

As reported in this column a year ago Phillipe Hubert, from the University of Bordeaux, has found that wines made after 1945 can be dated because they retain traces of caesium-137, an artificial radioactive isotope produced by nuclear testing.

Hubert tested Koch's 1787 Chateau Lafite at a high-security underground laboratory on the French-Italian Alpine border (going deep underground minimises the chances of naturally occurring gamma radiation skewing the results) and concluded that the wine must have been made before 1945 because it lacked caesium-137.

Koch still wasn't convinced. The next step was to examine the engraved initials; for this, the investigators bought similar bottles and tried to recreate the etchings. Additionally, they sought the help of the Corning Museum of Glass, in New York, and an FBI forensics expert. As the Wall Street Journal reports, these tests have led Koch's team to believe that the initials were etched with a high-speed diamond drill with a movable head - and they didn't exist in the 18th century.

This month Koch filed a lawsuit in New York against Hardy Rodenstock, the wine dealer who sold him the bottles after reportedly tracking them down in a bricked-up cellar in Paris in 1985. -- Anjana Ahuja in the London Times, Full story at www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/anjana_ahuja/article1085351.ece

TREND MARINE RECEIVES ISO 9001/2000 FOR ALL PRODUCTION
Trend Marine Products Ltd, based near Norwich, Norfolk, has just received ISO 9001/2000 accreditation, achieved over a period of two years, covering all production processes from point of order to delivery on their 14 acre facility.

Trend are the leading European manufacturer in curved glass and windows for all marine applications, with panels being moulded into three dimensional shapes with repeatable accuracy. Patio doors, carbon and glass roof systems, screens, port lights, hatches, pop out doors, and shower doors are also produced for leading OEM manufacturers.

www.trendmarine.com

JJ GILTINAN INTERNATIONAL 18FT SKIFF CHAMPIONSHIP
Sydney Harbour, Australia: Defending champions Michael Coxon, Aaron Links and Nathan Ellis have strengthened their grip on the SLAM-Winning Appliances JJ Giltinan International 18ft Skiff Championship when they brought their skiff Fiat home an easy winner of Race 5 on Sydney Harbour today.

Fiat took the victory by 1min 26secs from New Zealand's CT Sail Battens, skippered by Phil Airey, with Maytag (Tony Hannan) a further 42secs back in third place.

Asko Appliances (Hugh Stodart) finished fourth ahead of Pegasus Racing (Howie Hamlin) and Gotta Love It 7 (Seve Jarvin).

After discarding their worst race to date, Coxon and his team have a total of 6 points(total points 12), with Gotta Love It 7 still in second place on 14 (total 20).

With discards taken into account, Asko Appliances is third on 17 (30), Pegasus Racing fourth on 20 (33) and Club Marine fifth on 25 (48). -- Frank Quealey

Race 6 will be sailed on Saturday with the final race on Sunday.

www.18footers.com.au

CARBONOLOGY GT60
An excerpt from TheDailySail's exclusive on the elusive...

With the official closing date for entrants into the ISAF Olympic Observation Trial passing last Wednesday, 15 February, so we had a brief look at the various entered boats. The official entry list and the later announcement by ISAF held few real surprises, with the previously confirmed 29erXX and RS800 being joined by a Cherub and an International 14. However, there was one big surprise as the - until then - largely unheard off Carbonology GT60 was listed as the fifth and final applicant.

After some digging around we got in touch with the founder of Carbonology, and the man behind the GT60, Dave Chisholm. Carbonology is the shop front of Chisholm's Suffolk-based composite manufacturing and sales business. Mostly the company sells raw materials for use in a wide range of fields from sports cars to boats. Chisholm himself is an avid sailor, competing in the Firefly class with his girlfriend and the International 14 with sailing partner Andy Prince. The company has a sailing team which consists of themselves and Adam May, a long term friend of Chisholm...

... Simply, the GT60 - so called because it will have a 60kg all up sailing weight - will be a one design that can be retrofitted to become a Cherub by replacing the bow. Chisholm imagines this to be a quick job as there will be little structural load in the replaceable parts, suggesting half a day as the potential build time. In theory it is very close to the Bladerider One Design / International Moth concept in that it will effectively belong to two different classes, albeit with a little bit of dismantling and rebuilding to be done.

Full article at www.thedailysail.com

BULLIMORE'S MISSION IMPOSSIBLE?
First, he was waiting for the last of the Sydney-Hobart race yachts to finish, for whatever reason. Then he was delayed by furling gear problems and, when that was sorted out, the weather wasn't right. He has been waiting for the wind to slingshot him on his way since January. But, for goodness sake, it's nearly March now.

The season is coming to a close. In a matter of a few weeks the lengthening nights, risk of ice and intensifying storms will shut the door to the Southern Ocean once again. The idea that he could break the record by sticking up in the latitudes of the 30s is insane: the huge extra mileage and variable weather would make it impossible. With winter coming and all, Tony Bullimore is going to have to leave Hobart eventually, but my money is on him sailing the boat home.

That's a shame in some ways because Tony's a legend and a record voyage is one many of us would follow avidly and cheer on. But I do think that if he has been able to sail his boat away from Doha recompensed with the money that was owed to him and never paid after the murky Oryx Quest, that is quite a victory in itself.

From Elaine Bunting's blog:
www.ybw.com/yw/blog/elaine_bunting.html

SWITCH ON UK'S CHANNEL 4 TO WATCH OCEAN!
UK network broadcaster Channel 4 is showing Ocean!, a 12 part series starting on 25th February at 7.30am that tells the story of the solo sailing round the world adventure the Velux 5 Oceans.

The first installment of the Ocean! Adventure introduces the ambitious skippers as they prepare for the marathon ahead and arrive in Bilbao for the race start. Getting to the start line is half the battle and what follows is an action packed tale of adventure, heroism and heart ache.

Ocean! is produced by APP Broadcast www.appbroadcast.com and executive produced by Andrew Preece.

The programme broadcasts on Channel 4 on Sunday 25th February at 07.30 am.

THE LAST WORD
Calendars are for careful people, not passionate ones. -- Chuck Sigars

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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