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LOUIS VUITTON CUP
On Tuesday afternoon, Desafio Espanol 2007 joined an elite group; the Spanish are the fourth team to qualify for the Semi Finals of the Louis Vuitton Cup. When Emirates Team New Zealand beat Victory Challenge, the Swedes chances of advancing were erased.

Although the Spanish lost their match today to BMW ORACLE Racing, there was jubilation on board when the boat returned to Port America's Cup. A wild celebration at the dock ensued, with crew members being tossed into the water, and champagne sprayed over the team and the boat.

There is still one flight of racing left to complete Round Robin Two, and it will determine the top team at the conclusion of this stage of the event. BMW ORACLE Racing meets Emirates Team New Zealand on Wednesday, and the winner will lead the table and have the right to choose its Semi Final opponent.

* A feeling of invincibility is growing around USA 98. BMW Oracle seem very comfortable with their new boat, far more so than they ever were with USA 87. One of the lynchpins of the Americans' enormous design team, the Argentinean maverick Juan Kouyoumdjian, says he's very happy with the USA 98's performance compared with the Kiwis' boats for example.

Here's a comment about NZL 92 from an interview with Juan K on Kimball Livingston's blog. "At the risk of being wrong - we haven't sailed against them enough to really know - I'd say the boat lacks a touch of speed. That team can compensate with rigs, sails, sailing talent, but if you give that boat to any of the second-tier teams, you won't see them going any faster."

Tactician Gavin Brady is pretty impressed too: "What I like about 98 is the effort the builders put in to building it, she's built down to the lightest tolerances ever seen, which maximises our stability."

Brady believes this is the best boat he's ever sailed on. "The first thing you do is you jump on a boat and work on minimising your weaknesses. It might have a really good fast mode or really high mode, but you don't often get both. The nice thing with 98 is she seems to have both.

"My feeling is, if I was racing 98, and asked myself how I'd exploit her, well, she's quite a formidable boat - she goes high, she goes low, she accelerates, she doesn't stall. She's an all-round nice boat. I've never seen it all come together before so nicely, the whole package, it's four years of a lot of money, a lot of development, good people." -- Andy Rice in his AC Blog, http://www.sailjuice.blogspot.com citing Kimball Livingston's: sailmagazine.blogspot.com

Wednesday's schedule:
Flight 11
1. Victory Challenge vs. Mascalzone Latino - Capitalia Team
2. Desafio Espanol vs. Luna Rossa Challenge
3. BMW Oracle Racing vs. Emirates Team New Zealand
4. United Internet Team Germany vs. +39 Challenge
5. Areva Challenge vs. Team Shosholoza

Ranking after LVC RR2 Flight 10
1. BMW ORACLE Racing, 37
2. Emirates Team New Zealand, 36
3. Luna Rossa Challenge, 33
4. Desafio Espanol, 29
5. Victory Challenge, 26
6. Mascalzone Latino - Capitalia Team, 20
7. Team Shosholoza, 18
8. Areva Challenge, 17
9. +39 Challenge, 10
10. United Internet Team Germany, 5
11. China Team, 3

www.americascup.com

* Three photo albums from Tuesday's racing, courtesy Ingrid Abery, Oskar Kihlborg and Thierry Martinez in the Scuttlebutt Europe photo gallery: scuttlebutteurope.com/photos

NEW EVENT IN ROME JOINS WORLD MATCH RACING TOUR
A new stage on the World Match Racing Tour, the Latium Match Cup, was announced yesterday at a press conference in Rome.

The event, named after the central Lazio region of Italy (Latium is the Latin term for the region) will take place from 11-16 September in Fiumicino, approximately 26km west of the city of Rome.

The Latium Cup is being organised by the 'Civitavela Organising Committee', in partnership with Circolo Velico Fiumicino, the Regional Government of Latium, the Municipality and Provincial Government of Fiumicino, the Provincial Government of Rome, CNL-Consorzio Nautico del Lazio Spa, and APOF - Associazioni Operatori Porto Fiumicino. The CivitaVela Sail Show 2007 will take place in the Fiumicino darsena with a 50,000 square-metre exhibition area to be fully dedicated to sailing over the 6 day event.

The Latium Match Cup is presenting a significant prize purse of Euro 200,000, one of the highest on the World Match Racing Tour. Prize money will be split between the top eight teams.

The Latium Match Cup will invite 12 teams to the event, with an 'America's Cup' style race format including a 'Round Robin' series, semi-finals and finals.

www.worldmatchracingtour.com

FUTURE FIBRES TECHNICAL SALES POSITION AVAILABLE
Future Fibres is the market-leading composite standing rigging manufacturer in the grandprix race sector. The sales team is looking for a technical sales person to focus on developing existing and creating new relationships in this exciting arena of America's Cup syndicates, Volvo teams and French Open classes, multihulls and maxis. The successful candidate needs solid design / engineering knowledge and to be a well-connected racing sailor and confident communicator.

Please send CV & covering letter to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Alongside its race circuit activity Future Fibres continues to roll out its proven PBO rigging technology into the superyacht and broader race / cruise markets.

FULLPOWER MELGES 24 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Santa Cruz, California, USA: Two veterans and longtime rivals who learned to sail in the gentle zephyrs at Newport Beach, Calif. turned the tables on their roots Tuesday when they won the opening races of the Fullpower Melges 24 World Championship, hosted by Santa Cruz Yacht Club, on a bright and breezy Monterey Bay.

But consistency paid larger dividends. As Bruce Ayres scored 1-7 finishes and Dave Ullman went 21-1, France's Francois Brenac was 2-4 at the helm of Benjamin Cohen's entry, which left him atop the leader board in a tie with the defending champion, Italy's Nicola Celon (4-2), driving for Amadori Ezio.

Ayres shares third place with Brian Porter of Winnetka, Ill., while Ullman shares seventh with Team Pegasus colleague Mark (Crusty) Christensen.

Overall, the seas were choppy but without the deep, queasy swells that marked the Pre-Worlds last weekend. -- Rich Roberts

Top ten after 2 of 10 scheduled races:
1. Tie between Francois Bernac, France, 2-4, and Nicola Celon, Italy, 4-2, 6 points.
2. Tie between Bruce Ayres, Newport Beach, Calif., 1-7, and Brian Porter, Winnetka, Ill., 3-5, 8.
5. John Pollard, UK, 8-6, 14.
6. Othmar Mueller von Blumencron, Great Falls, Va., 6-9, 15.
7. Tie between Mark Christensen, Santa Cruz, Calif., 16-3, and Dave Ullman, Santa Ana, 18-1, 19.
9. Chris Larson, Annapolis, Md., 12-8, 20.
10. Tie between John Pink, UK, 7-14, and Don Jesberg, Mill Valley, Calif., 12-8, 21.

www.melges24worlds2007.com

FARR WORRIED SOMEONE HAS FOUND A WAY AROUND THE RULES
BMW Oracle Racing designer Bruce Farr worries that one of his rivals has found a way around the wording of the design rules, and has devised something the rules didn't intend to allow.

It has been suggested defender Alinghi may be doing something with their keel to give them a speed edge in the America's Cup match in June.

One of the teams asked the measurer questions in relation to stiffening or supporting the keel fin.

While the measurer answered "no" to a lot of the questions, Farr used the example of Team New Zealand's hull appendage in the last cup as something the rule never intended to allow.

"In the past the rule has been pretty liberally interpreted in some areas and not really kept true to its extent," said Farr, who helped create the America's Cup Class Rule in the early 1990s.

"One worries that someone has found a way around the wording in the rules that allows them to do something that clearly the rules didn't intended to allow."

When asked if he'd spotted anything on the Alinghi boats to suggest they had conquered the problem of the keel fin deflecting, Farr pointed to a slight bulge near the top of the fin.

"I see something on those boats. There is a shape-change line about 30cm down from the hull on the keel, where you can see a change in the surface shape of the keel fin, which looks a little strange to me and indicates that there is something happening there.

"It may just be some change in the structural design of the keel at that point that requires taper and widening above there. It could be a sign there is something going on."

When asked what, Farr said: "There is two things you might try to do to get an advantage with some kind of a controlled structural defamation or linkage of forces.

Full story in the New Zealand Herald:
www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/story.cfm?c_id=338&objectid=10438388

KICKING OFF THE ORMA SEASON
The AS Lease Challenge will be, as was the IB Group Challenge in 2005, the opening race of the ORMA season, combining the offshore racing with a Celtic triangle of 1400 miles. Leaving from Lorient on May 13th, the competitors will firstly round a mark off the Spanish coast, in front of La Corogne, before rounding the famous Fastnet rock. They will then come back to the French coast to perform a few eight shaped courses, back and forth between Groix and Belle-Ile Islands.

This race will then be followed by two daily navigations for the Multihull Trophy, leaving from Lorient on May 19th and 20th. Speed sailing will be part of the show!

Participating boats and skippers:

1. Banque Populaire, Pascal Bidegorry
2. Gitana, Lionel Lemonchois
3. Groupama, Franck Cammas
4. Sopra Group, Antoine Koch

www.aslease-challenge.com

BULLIMORE REPORTS RIGGING PROBLEMS
British round the world yachtsman Tony Bullimore reported today that rigging problems aboard his 102ft catamaran Doha have forced him to slow right down while he effects repairs.

In a brief message relayed back to Team Bullimore's Press Office, Tony said that conditions were now light, and he was about to make repairs to the 112ft rig. 'There is no cause for concern. Everything is under control.' He assured his team.

Doha crossed into the Roaring Forty latitudes at 04:00 GMT today after Bullimore took the prudent decision yesterday, to get out of the way of the latest low pressure system centred in the mid 50 latitudes which was due to cross his path on May 9.

On an upbeat note, the yachtsman also said that he had just enjoyed a belting good currey 'Hot enough to raise the roof off the Alexandra Palace.'

Tony Bullimore's progress can be followed on www.teambullimore.com

ISAF NATIONS CUP 2009
ISAF is now accepting bids for Regional Finals and the Grand Final of the 2009 ISAF Nations Cup, one of ISAF's premier events designed to promote match racing around the global and find the world's top match racing nations. The bids should comply with the Bid Document and received by the ISAF Secretariat no later than 15 June 2007.

The Nations Cup was first introduced to the world in 1991, with the inaugural event won the USA team led by Ed Baird, currently helmsman for the America's Cup Defender Alinghi. The Nations Cup had a very successful rejuvenation in 2006, hosting more than 50 nations in eight Regional Finals held around the world. The top teams in the Regional Finals met at the Grand Final at the Royal Cork Yacht Club, with France winning both the Women's and Open divisions, led by skippers Claire Leroy and Mathieu Richard.

It is now time to prepare for the ISAF Nations Cup 2009. ISAF encourages clubs and Member National Authorities (MNA) from around the world to submit bids to host the Regional Finals and the Grand Final. The Regional Finals will begin shortly after the completion of the Olympic Games in 2008 and will continue into 2009.

The Event Description is here: www.sailing.org/nationscup/nations_cup_09_bid.pdf

www.sailing.org/nationscup

LAUNCHINGS
* Oyster Marine and Dubois Naval Architects have teamed up to create a new range of series-built superyachts.

The UK-based boatbuilder and naval architect will produce a Dubois Oyster 100 and a Dubois Oyster 125. Manufacture of the new designs is expected to take place at RMK Marine, Istanbul, Turkey. Starting with the 100, both yachts will be built from female tooling in modern, composite materials.

There are more than 30 Dubois designed yachts over 100ft (30m) afloat and by the end of 2007, 40 Dubois designs will have been launched, the largest at 188ft (57m), with several others in build. -- IBI news, www.ibinews.com/ibinews/newsdesk/20070408112134ibinews.html

* Eamon Conneely's brand new Reichel Pugh designed 'Patches' arrived by ship today in Valencia after 22 days at sea from Hong Kong. In what could turn out to be an increasing trend to build race boats in the Far East, this boat was built by McConaghy's International in their Chinese facility in Don Guan. The six month build program involved 40 local Chinese workers and supervision from boat builders from McConaghy's yard in Sydney, Australia. Skipper Ian Walker, who's company High Aspect project managed the build process, is delighted with the results

'it was a brave decision by Eamon to build in China, but McConaghy's are one of the best boat builders in the world and we were confident they would build a very high quality boat on time. We are thrilled by the work of Mark Evans and his team. With the first Breitling MedCup regatta starting in one month we could not afford any delays.'

The new 'Patches' will again have a Hall Spar mast. Like many of the top boats last year it will have 3 sets of spreaders. The sails as in previous seasons will be from the North Sails UK loft in Gosport, overseen by Patches' trimmer Simon Fry.

* Owner John Brim's new Reichel/Pugh 55 was built in China by an Australian firm, with a mast from Argentina, keel from Mexico, winches from Italy, etc. To view photos of the boat, see www.sailingworld.com/gallery.jsp?id=3898

* Ancona, Italy: The new Wally 30-meter (100-foot) sloop Y3K was launched during a private ceremony.

This Y3K is a direct development of the successful and highly awarded 29-meter (94-foot) Y3K, that was recently sold and re-named Angel's share by her new owners.

The new Y3K combines the lines of German Frers with the Wally technologies and style that made the first Y3K a reference point in her size range.

To further improve the performance of her predecessor, she will feature the PBO rigging and a keel with trim tab.

While the deck layout is very similar to that of Angel's share, the interiors provide for a different arrangement featuring the salon aft, and the owner's stateroom forward.

The first sea trials of Y3K will start around mid April with the delivery to the owner scheduled for the end of the month, when she will leave heading to Portofino to get ready for her first regatta (May 11-13).

* There was a time when the German Dehler yard was at the cutting edge of sailboat design, but that had faded over the past couple of years. Now, with new owners, there's come a renewed focus on the road Dehler should be taking and, with a new design office, the company should once again be a brand with boats that are a step apart from other cruiser-racer producers.

That is how Luuk Le Clercq introduced his article on the Dehler 44SQ cruiser racer. Luuk sailed on the boat, recently, in France. Find out how he felt about it after the racing at www.bymnews.com/may/dehler.html

* Perini Navi proudly announces that on Saturday April 21st the launch of its 40th vessel took place. Tamsen is a 52 metre ketch with steel hull and aluminium superstructure.

Her 500 tonnes of displacement are moved thanks to 1,127 sqm of sail and manoeuvred by 13 Perini Navi reel captive winches. The sail plan is carried by two aluminium masts respectively of 51.72m for the main and 41.44m for the mizzen mast, equipped with Perini Navi carbon fibre "in-boom" furling booms. Two CAT C32 (720 kW each) engines will allow her to motor at a maximum speed of 15kt.

The 12 guests can be accommodated in 4 cabins, all with private bathrooms and 1 full beam Owners' suite with walk-in closet and his and her bathrooms, while the 8 crew are in 5 cabins all with private bathrooms.

Two Pascoe tenders of 7.50m each are semi-sunken stored up forward on the main deck. The "shell door", located on the port side aft, provides the guests with easy access to the sea.

The mast stepping operation is due to be completed during the first week of May and the delivery is foreseen in June. -- www.perininavi.it/schedanews.cfm?IDF=144

THE LAST WORD
Life doesn't make any sense, and we all pretend it does. Comedy's job is to point out that it doesn't make sense, and that it doesn't make much difference anyway. -- Eric Idle

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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