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AMERICA'S CUP... GETTING BUSY...
Only three weeks before the beginning of Louis Vuitton Act 13 in Valencia, America's Cup winner David Dellenbaugh has been appointed to the position of tactician in the United Internet Team Germany. Former tactician Henrik Blakskjær will now strengthen the team as a pitman.

"The position of a tactician is crucial on board. With David Dellenbaugh we appoint the most experienced tactician in our team", says Head of Syndicate Michael Scheeren. Until now the American Dellenbaugh has been available to the team part-time only. However, the 53 years old Dellenbaugh moved his domicile to Spain in February 2007 and is now able to support the team until the end of the America's Cup. "I am very happy to see David in this position. His experience will help to make our team even stronger in the upcoming races", says skipper Jesper Bank.

David Dellenbaugh already participated in several America's Cup campaigns successfully: For the first time he was the tactician in the US team Heart of America in the America's Cup in 1987. He won the desired trophy as a tactician and starting helmsman in 1992 on the winning yacht America3. Three years later Dellenbaugh again participated as a tactician in the US team Mighty Mary. He is the author of the popular Speed and Smarts newsletter: www.speedandsmarts.com

www.united-internet-team-germany.de

* Tuesday March 6th at 20h30, the first Chinese America's Cup class in the history of the America's Cup was christened in Valencia, Spain. CHN95 has become Longtze, "the son of the dragon". Longtze will carry the Chinese colors during the 32nd America's Cup, starting April 3rd 2007.

The christening ceremony took place at the China Team base in Valencia, including the presence of the Mayor of Valencia, Rita Barbera, Mr. Qiu Xiaoqi, Chinese ambassador from Madrid, Wang Chao Yong, syndicate president, sponsors of the team and 300 invited guests.

Longtze was christened by Xin Li, Chinese model and actress, ambassador for the team since its creation, who opened up a bottle of Chivas on the bow of the America's Cup Class yacht. The christening ceremony was equally the occasion to present to the press the new collection of Lladro porcelain inspired by the China Team dragon as well as the new TAG HEUER collection of watches, China team Aquaracer.

www.china-team.org

Symbolic of China, synonymous with power and nobility, the dragon is an inescapable element in Chinese culture. Longtze follows in this tradition, in the birth of a new generation of Chinese sailors.

* BMW ORACLE Racing has begun the final two-boat race training session in the lead-up to Louis Vuitton Act 13 and the 2007 Louis Vuitton Cup starting next month in Valencia. The team's two 2007-generation race yachts USA 98 and USA 87 lined up together for the first time as skipper Chris Dickson and the sailing team performed a series of tests and in-house races in the waters off Valencia today.

The team sea-trialed USA 98 in New Zealand and ran a two-boat race training session there in January and February. USA 98 arrived to Valencia by Antonov February 23 and underwent on-the-water technical checks last week. USA 87 also sailed last week for the first time following winter modifications.

BMW ORACLE Racing will continue the two-boat race training programme through March in preparation for the 2007 racing season which begins with Louis Vuitton Act 13 (fleet racing) on 3rd of April. The Louis Vuitton Cup starts 16th of April. -- www.bmworacleracing.com

* A few of Sweden's most promising young sailors that have been given the most desirable work experience there is. Viktor Bolmgren, 17, Filip Bolmgren, 19 and Anton Thorin, 14, winners of Victory Challenge Jr. Cup and Paulina Hammero, 16, and Carl James, 17, from the sailing college in Angelholm, are on work experience with the America's Cup challenger, Victory Challenge, in Valencia.

Instead of a school desk in a cold, dark and wintery Sweden, they have flown to Spain to try out working with sailing during the preparations for the world's most prestigious regatta. And it is sunny and 25 degrees.

Four of them are E-dinghy sailors. The youngest, Anton, who is in year eight at Vikenskolan, is planning on moving to E-dinghy in the summer. The oldest, Filip, who will soon turn 20, is set on starting with 470s.

Their work experience will be over on Sunday. Then it remains for Victory Challenge to host two trainees, Victor Bergstrom and Lisa Ericson from Lerums Seglargymnasium, before it is time for the final pre-regatta of the 32nd America's Cup, the Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 13, which will be decided 3-7 April, and the challengers' series the Louis Vuitton Cup which starts on 16 April. -- www.victorychallenge.com

* SUI91 arrived in Valencia yesterday afternoon on an Antonov plane from Dubai. SUI64 is due to follow by ship.

This is the first time during this campaign that the Swiss Defender has flown a racing yacht, the last being in 2001, when the team flew SUI64 from Geneva to Auckland where they successfully won the America's Cup in 2003.

The plane for the occasion was the Antonov AN-124, one of 56 built and introduced in 1986. It can carry up to 150tonnes and 88 passengers, although they rarely take more than a few due to limited pressurisation in the fuselage. Six crew members fly the 68.96m plane - which stands 20.78m high and has a wing-span of 73.3m - at a maximum speed of 865km/h and a cruising speed of 800km/h.

The Antonov landed in Valencia on Sunday, late afternoon and SUI91 was transported to the Alinghi base on Monday. Sailing is on schedule for mid-March. -- alinghi.com

* The Herreshoff Marine Museum/America's Cup Hall of Fame has named Marvin Ronning as its new executive director. Previously in senior management positions at Save The Bay and The Big Picture Company, Mr. Ronning comes to the Museum with over 20 years of experience in educational non-profit management, strategic planning and fundraising.

Mr. Ronning earned his masters degree from Harvard in administration, planning and social policy, and has served as a board member and consultant to several area non-profit organizations.

www.eastbayri.com/story/288349175077843.php

PETERS & MAY FLY 3 AC YACHTS!
Peters & May have again shown why they are world leaders in yacht transportation and logistics. Working closely with Emirates Team New Zealand and BMW Oracle Racing, Peters & May had 2 vast Antonov aircraft at Auckland airport in February to load a total of 162 tons of cargo including 3 AC yachts, chase boats, 34m rigs, keels, bulbs and 40ft containers. With coordination between Peters & May's offices in Auckland, Valencia and the UK, the two aircraft arrived in Valencia within hours of each other and their precious cargo was subsequently delivered safely to the syndicate bases.

www.petersandmay.com

BREITLING MEDCUP CIRCUIT
The city of Alicante has today been confirmed as the venue for the opening event in the Breitling MedCup Circuit 2007. The southern Spanish city will host the City of Alicante Trophy from 13 to 17 June 2007. The Generalitat Valenciana has also confirmed that they will also host two events in the 2008 MedCup Circuit.

For the first time in the history of the Breitling MedCup, the opening event will take place in Spain and, for the third time, it will be hosted by a city in the province of Valencia. The organisers of the Breitling MedCup were keen to emulate the experience of last season with the successful event in Castellon. However, after lengthy negotiations with the new management at the Club, it was decided, with regret, to transfer to, the city that will also play host to the start of the Volvo Ocean Race in 2008.

Once the Louis Vuitton Cup has concluded in Valencia, Alicante will play host to the world´s leading matchracing circuit and it is expected that some 25 TP52´s will be present along with the world's leading owners and sailors. -- Victoria Low

The remaining calendar for the 2007 Breitling MedCup is unchanged with:

Regata Breilting, Puerto Portals, Mallorca - 18 - 22 July
Copa del Rey, Palma, Mallorca - 31 July - 4 August
Algarve Trophy, Portimao, Portugal - 19 - 25 August
City of Hyeres Trophy, Hyeres, France - 10 -15 September.

medcup.org

ROLEX FARR NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP
Miami, Florida, USA: One of the certain highlights of the upcoming Acura Miami Grand Prix will be the competition in the Farr 40 class. To date, 16 teams - representing the U.S. and seven foreign countries - are expected to compete on Biscayne Bay. With title sponsorship from Rolex, racing will take place March 8-11 to determine the Rolex Farr 40 North American Champion.

The current Farr 40 World Champion, Vincenzo Onorato (Portoferria, Italy) and his Mascalzone Latino have sent word to the organizers that they will not compete. However, any of the other boats competing have a chance at winning in this strict owner-driven, one-design class where a premium is placed on boat handling and crew work. The current holder of the America's Cup, Ernesto Bertarelli and his Alinghi team, also are past world champions and will have serious competition from two-time World Cup holder Jim Richardson (Boston, Mass./Newport, R.I.) on Barking Mad. Also favored for a podium finish are the 2003 World Champion Massimo Mezzaroma (Rome, Italy) on Nerone and Wolfgang Stolz (Frankfurt, Germany) on Opus One, who placed a remarkable fourth at his debut world competition this past September in Newport, R.I.

There will be plenty of Olympic, Volvo Ocean Race and America's Cup talent throughout the competitive fleet, serving as tacticians and filling key roles for professionals. Americans include Brian Ledbetter, an Olympic Silver Medalist, tactician on Barking Mad; Jeff Madrigali, an Olympic Bronze Medalist, tactician on John and Deneen Demourkas's (Santa Barbara, Calif.) Groovederci; Alinghi team members Brad Butterworth and Pieter van Niewenhuyzen; Chris Larson, the 1997 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year, on Alesandro Barnaba's Fiamma; Gildas Philippe, a French Olympian, on Erik Maris' (Paris, France) Twins; and Bouwe Bekking, skipper of Movistar in the 2005-06 Volvo Ocean Race, tacitican on Nanoq, helmed by HRH Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark.

Event website www.premiere-racing.com
Farr 40 Class: www.farr40.org

CHARTER "PLATONIC AFFAIR"
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charterasunseeker.co.uk

GSTAAD YACHT CLUB SKI-YACHTING 2007
Interclub Ski-Yachting
After 9 years and several times finalist, the Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS) won the prestigious GYC Interclub Ski-Yachting. RYS Team 1 with Graham Wilkinson, Bruce Huber, Pippa & Fabian French beat RYS 2 with Charles Nicholson, Chris Preston, Bertie Bicket and Jonnie Goodwin.

- Overall results: www.gstaadyachtclub.com/images/ClubsOverallResults2007.PDF
- Ski Race Team results: www.gstaadyachtclub.com/images/ClubsSkiResultsTeam.pdf
- Ski Race Individual results: www.gstaadyachtclub.com/images/ClubsOverallIndividual.pdf

Junior Ski-Yachting
The Bayerischer Yacht Club (BYC) wins the first edition of this event, which saw 6 junior teams from 4 yacht clubs participate. Participating for BYC was Julian Autenrieth, current Optimist World Championship.

Classes Ski-Yachting
Team BAH 18 led by Peter Vlasov takes the title in the 5.5m Class and Team Christen/Christen win in the Star Class.
- Overall results 5.5m and Star, www.gstaadyachtclub.com/images/ClassesOverallResults2007.PDF
- Ski Races Individual results, www.gstaadyachtclub.com/images/ClassesSkiResultsIndividual.pdf

Next year, the Gstaad Yacht Club celebrates it's 10th year with a special Ski-Yachting event, so reserve the date Feb 28 - Mar 2, 2008.

VOLVO OPEN 70'S AT ABN AMRO NORTH SEA REGATTA 2007
In May 2007, two Volvo Open 70's will set sail for Scheveningen (Netherlands) to participate in the offshores of the ABN AMRO North Sea Regatta. On Tuesday May 15, Peter de Ridder's Mean Machine will line up for the annual Vuurschepenrace from Scheveningen to Harwich (UK). On Friday May 18, the former Pirates of the Caribbean will be on the starting line for the North Sea Race back to Scheveningen. Whether the victorious ABN AMRO 1 will join, depends on her tight racing schedule. The black boat will compete in the Caribbean Antigua Sailing week that concludes at the beginning of May. The ABN AMRO 1 will return to the Netherlands as soon as possible. In case it will not hit the Dutch coast in time, the winning VO 70 will sail its guests between the courses of the inshore regatta from May 25 until May 28. The organization expects about 500 yachts and dinghies to compete in this year's edition.

Also Bouwe Bekking returns to his home water to participate in the ABN AMRO North Sea Regatta. Last year, skipper Bekking and his crew had to abandon the unfortunate Spanish Movistar during the Volvo Ocean Race. Now, he will step onboard Swan 45 Bolidt synthetic systems (NED). Prior to the start on Friday May 25, Bekking will christen the metallic orange coloured Swan. Another familiar face from the prestigious ocean race is Gert-Jan Poortman (NED). The bowman of ABN AMRO 2 will be tactician onboard Eclectic, a Dehler 44.

At the beginning of 2007, Ruud Kapteijn from the Netherlands took the initiative to enthuse sailors for a double handed participation at the offshores. Meanwhile, the organization of the ABN AMRO North Sea Regatta promised him that they will be welcome for sure. If they are with eight entries or more, they also have their own classification. At the moment, Hans Bouscholte (NED) is the fourth entry for both offshores. He will race with Peter Desmedt (BEL) onboard Brunel Open 60. Bouscholte considers his participation as a training for the Barcelona World Race 2007 and the Vendee Globe 2008, in which he hopes to start.

As of the year 2007, the big boats will no longer compete in IMS-classes. Instead, the ABN AMRO North Sea Regatta will be open for IRC 1 to 4 and still for ORC 1 to 4. There are some changes in the dinghy regatta as well. The O-jol does not return and the Javelin and Laser RB3 are added to the long list of invited classes. Laser Standard sailors have their battle at the Holland Regatta in Medemblik, which will be sailed at the same time. That is why only the Laser Radial will be present in Scheveningen this year. -- Diana Bogaards

www.nsr.nl

100 YEARS ON... THE SIX-METRE CHAMPIONSHIP
A strong fleet of International Six-Metres is coming to Cowes, UK to compete in the 2007 World Championships, 100 years after the Metre Rule was first established.

Tim Street, the President of the International Six Metre Association states "We are expecting more than fifty International Six Metres from the UK, Europe, Scandinavia and North America. The fleet will include beautifully prepared Classic yachts from the early 1900s as well as Modern yachts - technically innovative examples that have been designed and constructed within the last few years. It is significant that designers such as Juan Kouyoumdjian are now creating Six Metre designs. In addition, recently built replicas of earlier yachts are endorsing the popularity of the famous class."

Commodore Simon van der Byl confirms that the Royal Yacht Squadron is especially pleased to be acting as Organising Authority for the Six Metre Worlds, from 16th - 23rd July.

More than half of the forty yachts on the British Six Metre fleet register are likely to take part in the championships. The active British fleet - largely based in the Solent - has nine events this season.

The Six Metre Worlds are timed to co-incide with the British Classic Yacht Club Regatta which starts a few days beforehand, and will be followed closely be the Metre Regatta (open to all Metre Yachts) to celebrate the centenary of the Metre Class Rule. July will be a truly festive celebration of competitive classic yachting.

www.6mr.org.uk

THE LAST WORD
One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important. -- Bertrand Russell

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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