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A TRYING DAY
On the second day of Louis Vuitton Act 13, race 2 got underway in about 16 knots of wind and a lumpy seaway. Alinghi was a little late for the start, but got off on the right of the line and headed right in clear air. Coming back into the middle, there was a brief tousle with the Italian challenger Mascalzone Latino - Team Capitalia, on port, who forced Alinghi to tack and took a penalty for it. Alinghi took the lead at the topmark to round ahead of the nearest challenger, Desafio Espanol 2007, by 13 seconds. Back downwind, Alinghi stayed on the right and sailed straight to the mark to extend the lead to 16 seconds. In a sizeable swell for Valencia and steady breeze, Alinghi sailed the left of the course stretching the lead into the 2nd windward mark to round ahead of the pack by 24 seconds.

Heading back down the left-hand side of the course, in about 12 knots, Alinghi slipped away from the challengers to cross the line 32 seconds ahead of their nearest rival, the Spanish.

Race 3 got away in 12-16 knot shifty conditions. Alinghi started on the left of the line at the heart of the pack and headed out to the left-hand favoured side of the course before sailing the shifts back into the middle to lead around the first mark. With Mascalzone Latino - Team Capitalia in hot pursuit Alinghi lead down the left-hand side, playing the shifts into the leeward mark to round 13 seconds ahead. Back upwind, things got closer as Alinghi and BMW ORACLE Racing came together at the 2nd windward mark and BOR got the advantage in the rounding. Downwind, it was neck and neck and coming into the finish the weather got increasingly fluky, the fleet caught up, the pack was re-shuffled, but Alinghi managed to cross ahead by 14 seconds under headsail. -- Daphne Morgan Barnicoat, Alinghi, www.alinghi.com

* In the second race two boats retired: +39 with a broken mast, United Internet Germany with rig damage after the two yachts touched as they approached the first mark. BMW Oracle broke a spinnaker pole and Shosholoza finished the race but under main alone. On board NZL 84, afterguard member Adam Beashel caught a finger in the main sheet block before the first race started and was taken to hospital for treatment. Mark Mendelblatt replaced him.

Today was supposed to be a repeat of yesterday with a morning westerly wind forecast to drop away before the scheduled start.

But the westerly breeze held and the first race got underway in 12-14 knots of breeze, with gusts during the race of more than 20 knots. The breeze may have been medium-strong but it was still shifty, testing the afterguards as they worked to ensure they were on the right side of the shifts. The sea state was moderate. -- Warren Douglas, Emirates Team New Zealand

* "We are evaluating all the possibilities- explained Lorenzo Rizzardi, president od the Italian Challenger +39- tomorrow we will not be racing, but we will be back on Friday for the final day of Act 13. I feel terrible for what happened to the guys, all the work done has been burnt in a second. We will not give up. We are here and we want to stay here. All I can say is that the Shore team is working feverishly and that we will do everything that is possible to recover this mast, that in the first two races showed a great potential. I also wish to thank those who offered their help."

As fot the dynamics of the event this is how Gabriele Bruni recounted it: "A loud noise, and the mast breaks in three pieces. A nightmare for a sailor. Then we immediately checked that nobody was injured. No time to get angry, all of us helped recovering what could be recovered, the pieces, the sails, trying to avoid any further damage to the hull." -- piu39challenge.it

www.americascup.com

* Photos of the dismasting from Gilles Martin-Raget and Fabio Taccola, photos of the fleet racing from Oskar Kihlborg in the Scuttlebutt Europe Photo Gallery, scuttlebutteurope.com/photos/

SAIL TV LICENSED BY ALCATEL-LUCENT TO SHOW THE 32ND AMERICA'S CUP
Sail TV, the World's internet sailing TV channel, will be broadcasting coverage of the 32nd America's Cup in Valencia online through a deal with Alcatel-Lucent, the Official New Media Provider for the event. Coverage of the event will be available at http://www.sail.tv on a 24/7 basis.

Starting from Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 13 and continuing right through to the end of America's Cup, Sail TV plans to feature short daily Video News Release updates, and will be showing delayed, embargoed broadcasts of the official TV highlights shows, plus live images from around the venue, together with specially produced content that will be exclusive to the channel. All of this will be available as 'Video-on-demand' and scheduled programming.

Due to pre-existing arrangements, Sail TV will not be allowing broadcasts into Canada, New Zealand, Spain or Italy, which will be blocked to viewers from these countries.

BEST OF LOUIS VUITTON ACTS 1-12
As racing heats up in Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 13, catch up with all the action from the last three years' events throughout Europe. Check the form of the teams lining up in Valencia with the new official event DVD, The Best of Louis Vuitton Acts 1-12.

Clocking in at 180 minutes, this production retraces all the great moments throughout the Louis Vuitton Acts between 2004-06 with many added feature segments taken from the ACTV show, America's Cup Stories.

Quite simply, it's not to be missed. Check out the trailers on...

americascupstore.com/cart/add_to_cart.asp?id=LVCDVD.1

BULLIMORE ON ORANGE ALERT
Hobart, Tasmania: Lee Bruce, Team Bullimore's weather guru, has set solo round the world yachtsman Tony Bullimore on 'Orange Alert' to start the Blue Ocean Wireless Round the World Challenge over Easter.

'Looking at the predicted weather patterns, these are the best I've seen since we began monitoring the Tasman area back in December.' He advises. 'Assuming a launch at 08:00Z (10:00 Sunday Hobart time), the wind stays good at least to the 12th of April, based on an average of 400nm/day (17kt). And if Doha made 500nm/day (21kt), it would take you to the 12th before you would outrun the good wind. The wind direction stays near north the whole time, and the speed ranges from 15-25kt. The start wind in Hobart is light, but it fills in quickly. So we could delay the start until later in the day, which would allow everyone to attend church!

Of course, nothing is certain with a week-long forecast, things can change dramatically, but conditions look good at the moment.'

Tony Bullimore is busy packing the last few items onboard and with help from members of the Bellerive YC later this week, will re-bend the newly branded sails back on the 102ft catamaran. -- Barry Pickthall

www.teambullimore.com

TORNADO EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP / MATS NYBERG TROPHY
Palma, Mallorca, Spain: Day 3 of the Tornado Europeans saw three races run, in offshore breeze ranging from 12 knots in the first race and getting up to 20 knots throughout the day.

Race 1 was won by Bundock/Ashby who lead from start to finish extending their lead each lap after being the pin end boat off the starting line.

Race 2 once again saw Bundock/Ashby as the pin end boat off the starting line but the right hand side of the course was the favoured side and Roland Gaebler (GER) lead around the first mark closely followed by Fernando Echavarri (ESP) who quickly took the lead on the first downwind and maintained his lead. Unfortunately for the rest of the day it was a one way track to the right hand side of the coarse. Bundock/Ashby fought back to finish 7th.

Race 3 Bundock/Ashby had a bad start and rounded the first mark in the late 20's. Francesco Marcollini (ITA) won the start and got out to the right hand side first and lead comfortably around the first mark and was maintaining his lead through out the race until he made a error and was heading for the incorrect top mark for the last time and let Billy Beson (FRA) to take the lead.

Bundock/Ashby slowly managed to get back to 13th to maintain the overall lead of the regatta.

Mats Nyberg (all entrants, not just European) Overall - Top 10
1. Darren Bundock/Glenn Ashby, AUS, 48
2. Pashalidis Iordanis/Trigonis Konstantinos, GRE, 51
3. Billy Besson/Arnaud Jarlegan, FRA, 53
4. Oskar Johansson/Kevin Stittle, CAN, 54
5. Revil Xavier/Espagnon Christophe, FRA, 59
6. Kirilyuk Andrey/Ushkov Valery, RUS, 66
7. Leigh Mc Millan/Will Howden, GBR, 67
8. Tino Mittelmeier/Niko Mittelmeier, GER, 76
9. Roland Gaebler/Gunnar Struckmann, GER, 76
10. Johannes Polgar/Florian Spalteholz, GER, 78

www.tornado.org

BALTIC SPRINT CUP
Not yet qualified for the Fastnet? Try this....

For boats based on the UK Channel and East Coasts the Baltic Sprint Cup offers a great experience for a summer's cruising and racing: the event starts in Copenhagen on Friday 20th July, giving plenty of time for a delivery trip via the Kiel Canal to Danish waters. Copenhagen itself is a magnificent venue with excellent transport connections and low-cost flights (Sterling Airways from Gatwick, bmi from Edinburgh, Glasgow and Leeds-Bradford, even BA offering 55 pounds one-way.

Already 20 yachts have officially signed up and participate in the free draw for a full set of JEANTEX heavy-weather gear complete with Baltic Sprint Cup 2007 branding, to be entered automatically by every yacht which has finalized registration of yacht and crew by 2359 UTC on Monday, 30th April.

The Baltic Sprint Cup 2007 is sponsored by Bank DnB NORD, Copenhagen.

Full details at www.balticsprintcup.com
The cool way to explore the Baltic.

DORADE RETURNS, ANNA LAUNCHES
The Castine Yacht Club of Castine, Maine, USA and Sparkman & Stephens (S&S) will host a celebration in Castine on August 1 of the launching of the new 1931 and the return to our shores of its historic precursor, Dorade. Anna, built this year by Brooklin Boat Yard for Sam Rowse, is reminiscent above the waterline of the classic S&S design Stormy Weather and traces its roots to the famous yacht Dorade.

The 52' yawl Dorade, designed in 1929, launched the design career of Olin Stephens. Stephens, widely regarded as the leading designer of the 20th century, will celebrate his 99th birthday on April 13. In 1931, Stephens, and his brother, Rod, sailed Dorade to victory in the Trans-Atlantic Race from Newport to England, beating the fleet of larger rivals by more than two days (almost four days on "corrected" time). Dorade went on to win the Fastnet Race by a wide margin. When the crew returned to New York, they were honored with a ticker tape parade up Broadway, a first for sailors. The New York Times hailed the "Youthful 'Vikings' Who Won Ocean Race in Little Yawl".

Commenting on the construction of Anna, Rowse said: "I have been thrilled to work with Olin Stephens, Mitch Gibbons-Neff (late S&S head), Bruce Johnson (S&S chief designer), Greg Matzat (S&S chief naval architect), Martha Coolidge (interior designer) and the skilled crew at Brooklin Boat Yard to recreate the classic lines of Stormy Weather with many modern improvements and, at the same time, to maintain the simplicity and functionality of boats built in the 30's, exemplified by Dorade. You can not help but marvel at the distinctive lines of these great boats, which could be from no other hand than the master, Olin Stephens."

On August 1, Dorade and Anna will be on public exhibition in Castine, with Olin Stephens presiding.

This celebration will precede the eighth annual Castine Classic Yacht Race to Camden on August 2, the Camden to Brooklin Feeder Race on August 3 and the Eggemoggin Reach Regatta on August 4. Over fifty Classic and Spirit of Tradition yachts will race the eighteen-mile course from the Castine Harbor bell, around Robinson Rock at the southern end of Islesboro and finishing off Camden Harbor. The Race Notice/Entry Form and Preliminary Sailing Instructions are available on the Castine Yacht Club website www.castineyachtclub.org

* Line drawing of Anna, pictures of Dorade and the Dorade parade, courtesy Sparkman & Stephens, at scuttlebutteurope.com/photos/
Look in the Launchings section.

HOBART EXTREME
Camet International Clothing expands their line of technical gear with the 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

ETCHELLS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2007 Etchells World Championship will be held in England on the Solent and will be hosted by the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club from its Cowes, Isle of Wight club house between 25 and 30 June. Crews must qualify for this regatta so only the very best teams from across the globe will compete and currently an entry of some 70 boats from eleven nations is anticipated.

The Royal Corinthian Yacht Club hosted the highly successful 2006 Etchells European Championship and its reputation for excellence in race management and outstanding hospitality made it the obvious choice to host the 2007 Worlds. PRO Tony Lovell, one of the UK's foremost race officers, will head up the race committee and the International Jury will be chaired by Canada's Andy Wardle.

One man who doesn't have to face the selection procedure is current World Champion Jud Smith, from Marblehead, Massachusetts, who is automatically eligible to defend his title. One of North America's top sailors, Jud is a long time supporter of the Etchells and has won many previous titles including three Etchells North American Championships. Jud will be chartering a boat from Cowes based Etchells builder David Heritage and plans to spend time practising on the Solent in advance of the Championship.

Another international competitor who has already qualified for the championship is New Zealand's rising star Alastair Gair and his young crew from Auckland, who came a close second to Jud at the 2006 Worlds in Perth and are the current New Zealand Etchells National Champions.

Although the UK qualifying trials have yet to be completed those hoping to be part of the strong British home team include Nils and Ante Razmilovic, whose brotherly rivalry in the class is legendary. Ante was top performing Brit at the 2006 Worlds finishing in third place and will be hoping for even greater glory in 2007. Nils wasn't able to attend the '06 Worlds so definitely has something to prove this time around.

Former Olympian Andy Beadsworth, who came fourth at the '06 Worlds, is another leading British candidate. Andy came to prominence as a youth in the Laser before going on to represent Britain in the Soling at the Savannah and Sydney Olympics and win no less than five British National Match Racing Championships.

The Etchells World Championship racing will take place on the world renowned sailing waters of the central Solent on windward leeward courses. Immediately prior to the World Championship the Solent will also host the Etchells British National Championship, hosted by the Royal Southern Yacht Club, Hamble. Racing will run from 16-18 June and although the boats will be based in Hamble they will race on the World Championship waters giving the crews ample opportunity for practise.

www.etchellsworlds2007.org

SHORT TACKS
* Men have muscles, women use their heads says Servane Escoffier in the April BYM Magazine

Asked whether being a woman, in the mostly male world of sailing, was a disadvantage or a plus, Route du Rhum sailor Servane Escoffier said "Where it comes to sailing, I don't think it's either. The men have bigger muscles, but I think we women get around things by using our heads more." -- http://www.bymnews.com/magazine/April2007.pdf

* This week's Volvo Ocean Race Podcast content includes an in depth report direct from Valencia as the America's Cup finally gets underway. We also speak to Volvo Ocean Race winning skipper Mike Sanderson on his latest appointment as Team Director of Team Origin, Britain's new America's Cup outfit. Finally we'll be touching base with the infamous Sir Robin Knox Johnston as he finally reaches dry land after an incredible 75 days at sea.

Please note - this week's Podcast is due to go live on Thursday afternoon (GMT) so that we can reach as many people as possible before they all head off for the Easter break. -- www.volvooceanrace.com/podcast

* The radical new keel design by Howes Macnaghten Technology was put through the test on a Laser 1 on a breezy, cold winter's day at Grafham Water. Video and audio clips on Yachting World: www.ybw.com/auto/newsdesk/20070214094210ywnews.html

* The Notice of Race for the 12th running of US SAILING's Rolex International Women's Keelboat Championship (Rolex IWKC) is now available online at the event website www.ussailing.org/riwkc and as a 10-page color brochure. This world-class event, one of the highest profile women's keelboat regattas in the world, will be held November 12-17, 2007 at the Houston Yacht Club in LaPorte, Texas. In the past competitors from Asia, Australia, Europe, South Africa and New Zealand have participated alongside previous champions such as Sally Barkow (Nashotah, Wis.), an Olympic hopeful and the 2005 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year; JJ Isler (La Jolla, Calif.) a two-time Olympic medalist and four-time Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year; and Betsy Alison (Newport, R.I.), a five-time Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year. The Rolex IWKC is part of the US SAILING Adult National Championships program.

* 2007 finds IRC firmly established in the United States with almost all of the major big boat events offering IRC. Two major season championships, the Northern Ocean racing Trophy, and the Gulf Stream Series are sailed under IRC. The 2007 Rolex IRC National Championship will be an international event. IRC is second only to PHRF in the number of events and boats racing. It is the only international rule in use in North America.

The US-IRC Owners Association has been formed. The Constitution and the list of members of the Association and its Technical Advisory Committee are listed on the website www.us-irc.org , as are excerts from the minutes of their monthly meetings. The sailing community is encouraged to send questions and comments to: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

* A sampler from last year's Speed Event on San Francisco Bay is at homepage.mac.com/sailing/sfspeed.htm

THE LAST WORD
The public will believe anything, so long as it is not founded on truth. -- Edith Sitwell

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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