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LOUIS VUITTON CUP
BMW ORACLE Racing retained its lead in the Louis Vuitton Cup round robins after winning a riveting pre-start battle against the Italian Mascalzone Latino Capitalia team in Valencia today.

All the action was in the pre-start, with skipper Chris Dickson making a hair-breadth judgment to hook USA 98's bow behind the transom of the Italian yacht and force them over the startline early. By the time Mascalzone Latino Capitalia had circled back to re-start the match, USA 98 had leaped away into an unassailable lead. -- Jane Eagleson

* Victory Challenge today took its fourth win in a row in the challenger's series, the Louis Vuitton Cup, by beating Desafio Espanol - by seven seconds. Thus there is still hope of reaching the semi-finals, with only two days remaining in the round robins. Tomorrow, Emirates Team New Zealand awaits. "I'm absolutely sure we can beat them," says Santiago Lange, traveller on Järv (SWE 96).

There is a restrained joy - and no victory celebrations - on the base after today's win against Desafio Espanol. Everyone knows that only the first of what may be the three toughest days in the team's history has been as successful as everyone predicted this morning.

Everyone knows that tomorrow's opponent, Emirates Team New Zealand, may be even harder and that yet another match remains for Victory Challenge on Wednesday, against Mascalzone Latino. Victories in both matches are necessary for Magnus Holmberg and his crew to have a chance of reaching the semi-finals.

To achieve that aim, Desafio Espanol must also lose its two remaining matches, against BMW Oracle Racing and Luna Rossa Challenge. -- Bert Wilborg

* Another must-read from Bob Fisher, on the history (!) of Swedish/Spanish spinnaker 'run-ins' and today's racing at www.sail-world.com/nz/index.cfm?nid=33466

Your humble narrator has received his copy of Bob's magnus opus: "An Absorbing Interest", a 2 volume, slipcase behemoth that has completely absorbed all my evening reading hours since last Thursday's DHL truck arrival. It's an astonishing accomplishment, no sailing library should be without one. See www.wiley.com/go/americas

Excerpts from Chapters 2 and 29:
media.wiley.com/assets/1150/72/Chapter_2.pdf and
media.wiley.com/assets/1150/73/Chapter_29.pdf

Tuesday's races:
Flight 10
1. China Team vs. +39 Challenge
2. United Internet Team Germany vs. Areva Challenge
3. Bye - Team Shosholoza
4. Mascalzone Latino - Capitalia Team vs. Luna Rossa Challenge
5. Victory Challenge vs. Emirates Team New Zealand
6. Desafio Espanol vs. BMW Oracle Racing

Ranking after LVC RR2 Flight 9
1. BMW ORACLE Racing, 35 points
2. Emirates Team New Zealand, 34
3. Luna Rossa Challenge, 31
4. Desafio Espanol, 29
5. Victory Challenge, 26
6. Mascalzone Latino - Capitalia Team, 20
7. Team Shosholoza, 18
8. Areva Challenge, 15
9. +39 Challenge, 8
10. United Internet Team Germany, 5
11. China Team, 3

www.americascup.com

EUROCAT 2007
Over 300 multihulls from eight nations gathered in Carnac, France for the latest edition of the Eurocat. Whilst light winds predominated, the final day brought good racing conditions with 9-10 knots across the courses.

Lights winds had hampered and delayed racing earlier in the regatta. During the long distance Grand Raid race on day three the wind dropped dramatically during the race, forcing the race committee to shorten the course, with the bullet eventually going to Wouter Samama and Andre Niesten (NED) ahead of home favourites Billy Besson and Arnaud Jarlegan (FRA).

In the Formula 18 yellow fleet, Mischa Heemsterk and Bastiaan Tentij (NED) brought to an end Darren Bundock and Glenn Ashby's (AUS) run of three consecutive Eurocat wins. Victory in the pink fleet for the C1, C3-SL16 and Spitfires went to Jeremy Lagarrigue and Guillaume Sangiardi (FRA), whilst the blue fleet for the Dart 18, Hobie 16s and SLKL 15s was won by Valentine Passet and Justine Fallet (FRA).

Crews from Australia, Belgium, France, England, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands and Tahiti all competed in the regatta. -- Julia Huve, on the ISAF site at sailing.org/default.asp?ID=j6~FnA~%602&format=popup

Event site: www.yccarnac.com

THE SEAHORSE DREAM TEAM
'There is no Second' the Seahorse guide to the America's Cup is written by: Paul Cayard, Russell Coutts, Dennis Conner, Chris Dickson, Tim Jeffery, Tom Schnackenberg, Paul Bieker, Hamish Ross, Jon Bilger and Mirko Groeschner.

Scuttlebutt and her sister title Scuttlebutt Europe have been given exclusive access to 20,000 free digital preview copies of this title - download it fast, when the meter hits 20K the shutters will come down!

Get your copy at www.seahorse.co.uk/americas/eu/

LARSON, O'NOLAN WIN MELGES 24 'PRE-WORLDS' HONORS
Santa Cruz, California, USA: Now that they've seen a smorgasbord of what Monterey Bay has to offer, the 58 competitors will catch their breath Monday before plunging into the 2007 Fullpower Melges 24 World Championship, hosted by the Santa Cruz Yacht Club.

Chris Larson of Annapolis, Md., driving Scott Holmgren's West Marine Rigging entry, scored a one-point victory over Britain's John Gimson, driving for owner Eamonn O'Nolan, to win the Pre-Worlds tune-up with a string of finishes of 16-5-1-4, one of the more consistent performances in winds ranging from 5 to 23 knots over the weekend.

Only three boats - Larson, 2003 world champion Samuel (Shark) Kahn of nearby Soquel, Calif. and Brian Porter of Winnetka, Ill. - had three single digit finishes in the four races. All four Pegasus Racing teams finished in the top 10 - Kahn third, Mark Christensen fourth, Dave Ullman ninth and Philippe Kahn, Shark's dad and the event title sponsor, 10th.

O'Neal's crew, one of 24 Corinthian (amateur) teams competing, shared amateur honors with Bruce Ayres of Newport Beach, Calif., but all of the above will count for little when the championship racing starts Tuesday. Ten races - two each day - are scheduled through Saturday, starting at 12:30 p.m., conditions permitting. -- Rich Roberts

www.melges24worlds2007.com

ISAF BEPPE CROCE TROPHY 2007
Jacques Rogge (BEL), the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was last night honoured by the International Sailing Federation when he received the Federation's highest award for outstanding voluntary contribution to the sport of sailing and ISAF. ROGGE, who has competed in three Olympic Sailing Competitions, is an outstanding recipient for the 2007 award presented in the Centenary year of ISAF.

The presentation of the ISAF Beppe Croce Trophy was attending by leading figures from the sailing world, including IOC Members, past Presidents and Vice-Presidents of ISAF and six previous winners of the award at a dinner hosted by S.pellegrino in Paris, France where ISAF is currently holding its Mid-Year Meeting.

ROGGE, elected as the eighth IOC President in July 2001, has a long and distinguished history in sailing. He started sailing at an early age, encouraged by his father who was a keen sailor. After early success in the Cadet dinghy in which he won a world championship title, Jacques moved into the Finn dinghy, the class which was to become his passion for many years and included three Olympic campaigns in Mexico 1968, Munich 1972 and Montreal 1976 before he became the President of the Class in 1979.

The Federazione Italiana Vela presented the trophy to the ISAF in memory of Beppe Croce, ISAF President from 1969-1986. Presented to an individual who has made a voluntary outstanding contribution to the sport of sailing, the ISAF Beppe Croce Trophy roll of honour is an impressive one. Including multiple Olympic medalists, rules gurus and designers, all have dedicated an outstanding amount of time to the sport of sailing.

ISAF: sailing.org

"WE USED SEALnGLIDE ON OUR KITES LAST SEASON AND IMMEDIATELY SAW A DRAMATIC IMPROVEMENT IN THEIR OVERALL PERFORMANCE."
Olympic bronze medallists Chris Draper and Simon Hiscocks, who have been using Holmenkol on their Olympic 49er.

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www.holmenkol.com/bilder/download/Haendler_Aquatic_weltweit.pdf

BULLIMORE FORCED NORTH
British round the world yachtsman Tony Bullimore has been forced to head north east to climb out of the way of a vicious low pressure system sweeping up behind his 102ft catamaran Doha.

The Low, highlighted in yesterday's report, is due to bring storm force winds to the region on May 9, and after the battering he received a few days ago from another Southern Ocean buster, Bullimore took the prudent decision today, to get out of its way.

Lee Bruce, Team Bullimore's weather guru, predicts that the winds will increase to 30-40kt from the NNW in the near term, and then back through to the NW later.

Doha's subsequent drop in speed puts Bullimore behind the 71day 14 hour solo circumnavigation record he is chasing, and will require a superhuman effort once the Low has passed by for Bullimore to get back on track before Cape Horn. It is still early days into the Blue Ocean Wireless Round the World Challenge and Bullimore remains confident that his bigger multihull has the legs to catch up on Dame Ellen MacArthur's benchmark time in the lighter winds of the Atlantic.

www.teambullimore.com

CAREFUL HOW YOU PRONOUNCE IT...
The first Italian challenge for next America's Cup edition is starting up from Panama City.

The italian challenge, managed for this first phase by 'International Global Service Co.' (a marketing & communication company with base in Panama), will be named 'Fuxia Challenge'.

All is around the colour, the fuxia colour, which will be the baseline of the challenge for all the sportive iniziative. Fuxia will be the hull, fuxia will be the sails, and the partners will be only international large consumer companies with target market the female world.

All of these activities are needed to give coherence to the marketing project.

The fuxia team want to become the second all-female crew in the America's Cup history (after America3 1995). It will be headed by a woman, of course, and it will be composed only by SHE sailors (the best of the international ranking list).

News will be the choice of the yacht club which launch the challenge to next America's Cup, as well.

"At the end of this edition in Valencia (32nd edition) some presidents and commodore of the most important yacht club will receive the project and can decide to participate to a competition for the final choice of the Yacht Club partner", said the Fuxia Challenge. " The winner will assure for the project all the aspects needed to the participation of the oldest sportive event in the world (technical services, legal, and so on,..)".

As soon as the yacht club will be chosen the managing structure will be created (in the nation of the yacht club): obviously the most part of the managing team will be composed by women. -- Cup in Europe, www.cupineurope.com/NewsEN/2007/AC33-30.htm citing Sport Economy, www.sporteconomy.it

AND SPEAKING (DISPARAGINGLY) OF ANOTHER ITALIAN TEAM....
Former Prada boy Stefano Rizzi used very severe words about his new +39 Challenge campaign.

"I am 40 years old and I never thought I could be involved in such a badly done thing", he said after the race against Luna Rossa Challenge. " It's impossible to do worst.

"I beg those who have unsuccessfully organized the campaign not to do this again as they risk to ruin the dignity of other sailors", he added. "They were mistaken about everything".

"It's a vade mecum about what not to do. The false way taken by inexperienced and arrogant people", he concluded with a special word about Luca Davoti capacity in the skipper role.

Considering Rizzi's comments were made during an interview by the Italian television La 7, +39 Challenge react today by publishing a press release on the issue.

"Our main goal is to participate and to be present to gain experience for a new possible challenge", said the press release. "The olympic spirit, share by most of us, force to deal with defeat. Some can't accept that and it's the true difference between them and us".

"If they didn't share our philosophy, they were free to quit before", concluded the press release. -- CupinEurope.com, www.cupineurope.com/NewsEN/2007/Piu39.htm citing www.datasport.it

ETCHELLS NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP
Houston, Texas, USA: Jud Smith received his sixth Etchells North American Championship trophy Saturday evening at the Houston Yacht Club following his dramatic win with a 14-point lead over his closest competitor on Galveston Bay. This regatta, sailed Thursday through Saturday, May 3-5, marks the fourth consecutive North American win for the reigning Etchells World Champion.

Hank Lammens and Chris Busch tied for second place, and the spot went to Hank who scored a bullet in the second race of day one, which beat out Chris's bullet from the first race.

A complete list of competitors and the final results are available online at www.etchellsnorthamericans.com/index.php?pageID=4

Top ten:
1. Jud Smith, 8.00
2. Hank Lammens, 22.00
3. Chris Busch, 22.00
4. John Kolius, 30.00
5. Marvin Beckmann, 35.00
6. Bruce Burton, 40.00
7. Russ Silvestri, 41.00
8. Justin Palm, 42.00
9. Allan Terhune, 50.00
10. Byron Ehrhart, 59.00

www.etchells.org

SECOND MATCH RACE CUP IN HARD
Match racing at a very special venue: Off Lake of Constance, the Austrian small town Hard has its own arena for sailing events, the so called "Binnenbecken". No waves, small enough for spectators to watch from all sides, but big enough for keen racers to play all possible tricks.

After last year's success, there will be a second ISAF match race cup, a grade two event, from May 17th to May 20th 2007.

Among the highly promising entries for the cup are European Champion Lindberg from Finland, Simoncelli from Italy, Monnin from Switzerland and Ainsly from South Africa, all ranking among the 25 best ISAF match racers.

Orel from Slovenia, Cornah from Britain, Ebler from Denmark and Stanczyk from Poland, all among the top 40 of the ISAF list, complete the set of world class match racers at this unique Austrian event.

Local competitors like Ellegast from Germany, Doppelmayr and Wagner from Austria will do their best to challenge those top crews and last year's winner Gurgel.

The first day of the event, Thursday May 17th, will be spectators' day: Visitors can sail the Streamlines, get the rules explained by experts before the competing teams are presented.

Friday May 18th will be Round Robin day.
Saturday May 19th quarter finals and big party at the beach.
Sunday May 20th semi finals and finals.

More information www.matchrace.at

DISCOVERY ROUTE RECORD RATIFIED
The WSSR Council announces the ratification of a new World Record:

Record : Cadiz to San Salvador. The Discovery route.
Yacht: Groupama 3
Name: Franck Cammas and 9 crew.
Dates: 24th April to 1st May 2007
Start time: 07: 47: 17 GMT
Finish time: 18:46: 10 GMT
Elapsed time: 7 days 10 hours 58 minutes 53 seconds
Average speed: 21.7 kts

Previous record: Steve Fossett, PlayStation. February 2003 - 9d 13h 30m 18s

John Reed
Secretary to the WSSR Council

ROSS HOBSON'S BACK
Ocean yachtsman Ross Hobson refloated his 2007 yachting campaign on Wednesday in partnership with his sponsors Ideal Stelrad.

Away from the headlines since losing his yacht and almost his life in mid-Atlantic last November, international yachtsman Ross Hobson from Ponteland, near Newcastle upon Tyne is now ready for 2007.

This time sailing with a crew, consisting of experienced catamaran sailor and son Peter Hobson, together with Martin Boatman, Dermot McGonigle and Stewart Walker, the Ross Hobson Ocean Racing Team will take on a number of challenging inshore races throughout the summer, beginning at Oban, Scotland on Friday 18th May when the new Ideal Stelrad F28 Racing Team takes on the Scottish Islands Peaks Race.

As current holder of the course record in 2000 with a time of 33 hours 23 minutes, Ross and his team (Peter Hobson, Martin Boatman, Dermot McGonigle and Stewart Walker) are itching to get started.

The campaign boat for 2007 is the Seb Schmit designed Formula 28 built by Frenchman Charle Chapple, one of France's top boat builders. Already a previous European F28 championship winner, the boat may be just 28ft long but she carries a 50ft mast and 1000 sqft of sail area. With her crew out on the side racks, her beam is a massive 37ft - and she weighs in (minus the crew) at just 560 kg.

Other milestones in the 2007 campaign include the JP Morgan Asset Management Round The Island Race on 23rd June and the Marine Design International Loch Ness Monster Race in August.

www.rosshobson.com

SHORT TACKS
* Sam Davies has just spent 18 days at sea sailing 4500 miles across the Atlantic and back. On board Roxy, she headed up towards Newfoundland, where she encountered conditions close to those found in the Southern Oceans, with a sea temperature around 1 degree and snow and hail squalls. On her way back, she twice hit something floating around, and one of these occasions was quite a frightening experience, as one of her rudders popped up, while the wind was blowing at 45 knots.

* A rescue helicopter has winched a 77-year-old Japanese sailor from the ocean off south-west Tasmania after he abandonned a world record attempt.

Ikuo Kashima left Japan nine months ago in an attempt to become the oldest sailor to sail solo around the world, unassisted, without stopping.

Tracy Higgins from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said Kashima struck problems overnight when his 12 metre (43 foot) yacht 'Korasaa77 was disabled by a freak wave in the Southern Ocean about 60 miles southwest of Tasmania.

Kashima made a distress call via satellite phone at 2.25am (AEST) today to Japanese authorities, who alerted Australian officials.

A police helicopter winched him to safety at about 1:00pm local time (0300GMT) and he was being taken to a Hobart hospital with leg and back injuries. -- Rob Kothe, www.sail-world.com/indexs.cfm?nid=33392

* Classic Boat's Design Competition brief is entitled "A boat for Grandad Jack"

To give a clear idea of the type of boat he wants Jack has made a list of his requirements for the prospective designer to consider:

The boat will be about 22 or 23ft [7m] long.
There is no restriction on draught as the boat will be kept afloat on a swinging mooring.
Traditionally built and traditional looking.
External lead-ballast keel.
The boat must be able to take the ground alongside or on legs.
A large sail area for racing, but easily handled for single-handed sailing or with a young crew.
Must be competitive for racing while maintaining good sea keeping qualities.
A reliable inboard diesel installation.
Perhaps have a small cuddy forward with a couple of berths and a portaloo or sea toilet.
Provision to attach a boom tent.
Space for up to six people for day sailing and to fish and picnic.
Above all, the boat must be pretty and a joy to own.

The competition is open to amateur and professional designers.
Winning designs will be published in CB and the winner will receive a handmade half model of his design. -- more at www.ybw.com/auto/newsdesk/20070403125314cbnews.html

THE LAST WORD
Among all forms of mistake, prophecy is the most gratuitous. -- George Eliot

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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