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JUST ONE WIN AWAY...
The Emirates Team New Zealand squad won its fourth consecutive race of the Louis Vuitton Cup Final and now sits one win away from a trip to the America's Cup Match. The Kiwis trailed early in Tuesday's race, but soon recovered to lead at every turning mark of the race course.

It was a light, challenging day on the waters off Valencia. Cloud cover hindered development of a sea breeze and the race was conducted in a tricky 6 to 9 knot Northeasterly breeze. There was a short postponement when a windshift came across the race course just before the scheduled start time. After re-setting the starting line, racing began in 8 knots of wind before a big spectator fleet.

* From hero to zero in a few seconds, Torben Graels failure to pass ahead of Emirates Team New Zealand as they came together for the second cross, conclusively doomed the Italians to their fourth failure in a row.

One minute there was a smile starting to show on the face of skipper Francesco de Angelis and two minutes later it had been replaced by a frown.

The match was over in less than 12 minutes, after everything had appeared to be going the Italians way for the first time in the Louis Vuitton Cup. Then, the usual sparkle and fire was eradicated from the Luna Rossa team and the now-familiar trailing the Kiwis scenario returned to the disappointment of the majority of the spectators.

Those who had hoped for an Italian comeback were doomed to despair, particularly as it had been within the grasp of Luna Rossa. Now it will need one bigger than Lazarus for the Italians to succeed and become the challenger for the America's Cup. -- Bob Fisher in Sail-World.com, his full editorial at www.sail-world.com/NZ/index.cfm?nid=34323

* Grant Dalton (Emirates Team New Zealand) said: "In light and patchy conditions fortunes can change very quickly. And it was light and potentially lethal out there today. Luckily we benefited more from the shifts than Luna Rossa. But they were always in it, and made us work for the win.

"The advantage to us of about 250 metres at the finish looked impressive but in this light and patchy stuff margins often flatter the winner," he said.

* Torben Grael, Luna Rossa's strategist, at the end of the race said: "Well we had good call from the meteo we wanted the right and got the right, won the first cross. Then there was a one tiny shift to the left between two righties and they got ahead. When it's light and fluky they manage to be a little faster. They sailed very well and we have to acknowledge that. Sometime things go your way sometimes not. That's life. We are giving it everything we have but that is sport."

* The weather outlook for Wednesday: Light southeasterly breeze. Clear skies and warmer.

www.americascup.com

BE IN THE FRONT ROW OF THE SPECTATOR FLEET IN VALENCIA!
Our Shosholoza team spectator boat still operates - every race day until the end of the America's Cup Match. Morning briefing on our rooftop terrace overlooking Alinghi and Luna Rossa. Official "event flag" puts us in the reserved area closest to the start box and laylines. Live AC TV on board. Full buffet lunch with drinks. Expert commentators. All the fun you would expect from "The Soul of Sailing". Many hotels available, we can help. GROUPS WELCOME.

Reserve tickets online at www.cupexperience.com or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

ANOTHER RECORD FOR GROUPAMA 3
Franck Cammas and his team have achieved their second record this year aboard the new Groupama maxi-multihull, sailing from Miami to New York in just 1 day, 11 hours, 5 minutes and 20 seconds. That knocks nearly 18 hours off the old record (2 days 5 hours 54 minutes and 42 seconds) set by Steve Fossett and his team on Playstation in 2001.

Groupama crossed the line at 22h36'40'' TU. The boat averaged 26.77 knots over the 955 miles, compared with 17.57 for Playstation.

The team:
Franck Cammas
Franck Proffit
Steve Ravussin
Pascal Blouin
Loic Le Mignon
Bruno Jeanjean
Yann Guichard
Frederic Le Peutrec
Ronan Le Goff
Stephane Guilbaud
Yvan Zedda (Photographer)
On land : Jean-Yves Bernot (Router)

www.cammas-groupama.com

CALAIS ROUND BRITAIN: WADING THROUGH TREACLE
Making a lowly 2 knots of instantaneous speed, PRB and VM Materiaux have well and truly been ensnared by the area of high pressure settling over the Skelligs Islands (SW Ireland). This system is set to spread Northwards until Wednesday noon as it expands towards Erris Head (NW Ireland). The breeze is likely to be very shifty in both strength and direction and the navigators will have to choose between hugging the coast as they enter the beautiful Galway Bay or the contrary of that, distancing themselves from the rugged cliffs and the considerable tidal currents.

The question is whether to make the most of the effects of land and thermals, or try to conserve the less hazardous sailing offshore.

Dominique Wavre on Temenos has already pulled back to within 4.4 miles of the duo, making fractionally more boatspeed with 4.2 knots and a better VMG. In fourth, Cheminees Poujoulat, has also made good ground, closing to within 37.4 miles of the head of the fleet.

Artemis Ocean Racing (Jonny Malbon) and Aviva (Dee Caffari) are absolutely neck and neck in fifth and sixth, pulling back around 30 miles on the leaders in the past 4 hours, Roxy (Sam Davies) just fractionally behind them.

* Skipper Dominique Wavre (Temonos):
"The calm zones are forecast over Ireland and the two leaders will slow up considerably in the next few hours. We're going to try to hang a left! joked Dominique when questioned at the noon radio session at Press HQ today. With a slight W'ly separation, TEMENOS was displaying 3 more knots of boat speed than his two predecessors at the latest 1600 hour ranking. We're making the most of it to make up some ground; four miles already since the 1200 hour ranking.

Behind, relegated to nearly 70 miles from the leaders, Bernard Stamm will be hoping to benefit from the situation in order to get back with the top trio.

Though the back runners see the arrival of this high pressure over Ireland as a chance to make up all or some of their deficit, the leaders will inevitably be less enthusiastic. Aboard TEMENOS we are preparing for a difficult night, "we're going to need some energy to get through this tricky stage in the calm conditions... Temenos is slipping along nicely in the light winds. It's very enjoyable, but we'll have to be on top of things in order to do well." The next couple of days clearly aren't going to be ideal for showing off the true potential of their machine. -- Translation by Kate Jennings, www.dominiquewavre.com

calaisroundbritainrace.com

NIGEL KING QUALIFIES FOR LA SOLITAIRE
UK yachtsman Nigel King has taken another step forward in pursuing his solo sailing career by successfully qualifying for La Solitaire Afflelou Le Figaro, the top annual event for single-handers. To do this, Nigel needed to complete two races on the Figaro circuit, each around 250 miles. In his first ever single-handed event, the Concarneau Solo, Nigel posted a thirteenth place and finished as top non-French entry. Two weeks later in the Sables Solo he rose to sixth place - a dynamic improvement in such a short time. He now sets his sights firmly on the main event which starts from Caen, northern France, in July.

The Corncarneau Solo course was basically a set of windward/leeward legs, using Ile de Croix and Belle Ile as marks. The Sables Solo also used offshore islands as turning points - the Ile de Re and Ile d'Yeu. Although disappointed not to beat his training partner Didier Bouillard in fifth, the sixth place was very rewarding.

Nigel now returns to his training base in La Rochelle until July, turning his hand briefly to Open 60 racing in the Calais Round Britain Race.

www.nigelkingyachting.com

VICE ADMIRALS CUP
The final day of the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club's Vice Admiral's Cup was another difficult one for the competitors who had to struggle with more light and shifty conditions as the wind ranged from zero to seventeen knots and came from just about every possible direction.

The Quarter Tonners in Class 4 got the best of the weather completing the final two of their eight scheduled races in sunshine and with light but relatively stable winds on the north shore off Hill Head. Overall Chris Frost and Kevin George on Tom Bombadil took the honours with Paul Kelsey's Runaway Bus second and Tony Dodd's Purple Haze third.

For the Quarter Tonners this event was the perfect warm up for the Coutts Quarter Ton Cup which takes place next weekend and is also being hosted by the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club.

Sadly for the big boats life wasn't so easy although the race committee was able to complete races four to six despite the vagaries of the weather. At one point in race five the wind shut off completely and there were boats pointing in all directions with all sorts of sail combinations aloft, most of which where hanging like damp washing.

In Class 0 Colm Barrington's TP52 Flying Glove put in the most consistent performance of the day to win the class overall counting five firsts and discarding a second. Second and third overall was a very close run thing but in the end it was a delighted Benny Kelly and the TP52 Panthera crew that beat Charles Dunstone's TP52 Red by just one point.

In Class One overnight leader Jerry Otter's Werewolf started the day off confidently with a second but then had an abolute shocker in the light and shifty race five finally struggling across the line in 12th place. In race six they again struggled finishing 9th but a 3, 1, 1, 2, 9 scoreline was sufficient to give them the overall title.

Class 1 certainly demonstrated why the level racing formula is so popular with the crews. In the mixed fleet of Farr 45s, Swan 45s and a DK46 each of the classes shone at different times in the regatta and the racing was incredibly close and very exciting throughout the weekend.

In the Cowes leg of the Swan 45 Northern European Championship series Glynn Williams and WISC were delighted to beat their close rivals Feva owned by Grant Gordon and Klaus Diederichs. The Swan 45s particularly enjoyed the opportunity the Vice Admiral's Cup gave for racing practise on the Solent as they will be holding their Gold Cup event off Cowes in a couple of weeks time.

Full results on www.rcyc.co.uk

SAILING TRIPS ON THE INTERNET: CREATING NAUTICAL ROUTES ONLINE
Drawing sailing trips on satellite maps or calculating distances between marinas can now be done online. The sailing portal marinamap.com which enables marinas from all over the world to be found by mouse click on a world chart has implemented a functionality to combine several marina locations or waypoints at arbitrary geographical positions into individual nautical routes. For each route the total distance, the distances between the waypoints and a graphical image on base of Google Maps is displayed. After a free registration users can save their routes permanently.

www.marinamap.com/en/search.shtml

GEOFF HOLD ARRIVES IN NEWLYN
Quadriplegic sailor, Geoff Holt, sailed from Falmouth to Newlyn today on his bid to be the first disabled person to sail around the coast of Great Britain, a voyage of at least 60 sailing days.

Geoff, 41, from Hampshire started the voyage he refers to as his "Personal Everest" from Southampton on 20th May, stopping off at Lymington, Portland, Bridport, Brixham, Salcombe and Plymouth, before arriving in Falmouth on Sunday.

Paralysed as the result of a swimming accident when he was just 18 years old, Geoff was an experienced sailor and charter skipper, who made many Transatlantic crossings prior to his accident. Since then Geoff has tried to get out on the water as much as possible, despite his disability. He has twice raced around the Isle of Wight, setting and then breaking his own record, but the sail round Great Britain is a momentous task for him.

Not only a feat of human endeavour, the journey is a complicated logistical effort as the schedule is completely dependent on tides and weather. In addition, there are the practicalities of launching and recovering the dinghy on a daily basis, plus finding wheelchair accessible venues.

Weather permitting, Geoff will leave Newlyn Wednesday and sail around Land's End to St. Ives or Bude, depending on the strength of the wind.

BIDS FOR ISAF SAILING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2011
* The Western Australian Government has formally registered its intention to bid for the world-class sailing spectacle, (ISAF) Sailing World Championships 2011.

Tourism Western Australia Chairman, Kate Lamont, said Western Australia was the best location in the world to stage one of sailing's most significant competitions.

"Western Australia's lively port location of Fremantle, a short distance from the capital city Perth, is the ideal venue to host the expected 1,500 competitors, 1,000 boats and an audience of tens of thousands of people likely to gather along the coast.

"Our rich sailing history and cultural diversity - coupled with a bright summer climate and perfect wind conditions - make Fremantle the right choice.

Ms Lamont said the not-for-profit sailing organisation, the Warren Jones Foundation, would partner with Tourism Western Australia to bid for the competition, and would also run the event if the bid was successful.

"The Warren Jones Foundation has worked tirelessly with the Government over 18 months to make this bid possible and we look forward to continuing that partnership," Ms Lamont said.

"Yachting Australia has also confirmed its support for WA as the only Australian bidder, and I am confident we will present a compelling case as the ideal host destination on the nation's behalf."

www.westernaustralia2011.com

* With the support of DSV (Deutscher Segler-Verband), the city of Kiel and the KYC (Kieler Yacht Club) want to host the ISAF Sailing World Championships in all Olympic Classes in 2011.

The detailed application will be forwarded to ISAF via the National Sailing Federation DSV before September 1, 2007; however, DSV officially announced it's interest to organise this top event in Kiel for 2011. "We are delighted that the application already has the full support of the Federal Minister of Interior Affairs, Dr. Wolfgang Schauble, the Prime Minister of the County of Schleswig-Holstein, Peter Harry Carstensen, and the reigning politicians of it's capital Kiel led by Mayor Angelika Volquartz" ....commented Rolf Bahr, President of DSV.

Jobst Richter, Kiel Week Race Officer, predicts that "Kiel offers excellent sailing conditions around the outer Kiel Fjord and the Baltic Sea, fair and reliable wind conditions and the necessary infra-structure to prepare and execute a top regatta event like the ISAF Worlds of all Olympic Classes.

For Kiel this will be the third endeavour to get the ISAF Worlds to Northern Germany. In 2003 the ISAF delegates from all over the world voted in favour of Cadiz/Spain; this year - at the beginning of July - Cascais/Portugal invited the competitors of all Olympic Classes for the ISAF Sailing World Championships 2007, - and the race results will count for the competitors' Olympic qualification for the 2008 Olympic Sailing Competitions in Qingdao/China. One year before the Olympic Games 2012 in London, the participation in the ISAF Worlds 2011 will be equally important for the "Olympic ticket" to Weymouth 2012.

Dierk Thomsen (ISAF delegate, ex-DSV President and KYC member) confirms that with Kiel's only application for 2011 the chances are much better to get the event to Kiel/Germany, - as in the past ISAF received more than one application from DSV without the DSV Executive Board having nominated the top German candidate. The deadline for lodging the official, detailed application is September 1st, 2007. -- Hermann Hell

www.kyc.de

CHARTER RUM JUNGLE, BEAUTIFUL MOTOR YACHT, 40 PEOPLE
Re-launched after extensive refurbishment, RUM JUNGLE will wow your guests this summer with corporate and private charter up to 40 people.

A spectacular platform to follow yacht racing with speeds over 20 knots, panoramic views and charming crew to ensure the experience surpasses all expectations.

Fabulous for drinks and dinner parties after sailing and stay overnight with luxurious en-suite accommodation onboard.

Availability in Northern Europe at the Etchells, Swans, Metre Regattas, Farr40 Worlds in Copenhagen and one remaining day of Cowes Week.

Contact Gemma Glanville: - +44(0)1590 676796 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

www.rumjungle.co.uk

150TH GOREY REGATTA
Final preparations are under way for what is undoubtedly the most historic event on this year's Channel Islands sailing calendar - the 150th Gorey Regatta.

Sponsored by Jersey Post, this very special anniversary event takes place on the weekend of 22- 24 June and yachts from England and France are expected to join the local fleet to compete for over 20 trophies.

Skippers from Carteret, Granville and St Brieuc have already indicated that they will be attending, and they will be joined by a fleet of UK-based Merlin Rocket sailing dinghies whose classic design goes back to 1946 - when Gorey Regatta was a mere 89 years old.

One of the oldest competitive sailing events in the world, Gorey Regatta is an integral part of Jersey's maritime history, providing sailors of all ages and skills with the opportunity to race in one of the most picturesque settings in the British Isles, with Mont Orgueil Castle as a magnificent backdrop.

It is open to yachts of many different classes, including dinghies, racing yachts, family cruisers, traditional dayboats and catamarans/ The States of Jersey's multi-purpose tug, the Duke of Normandy, will be present, Jersey Harbours having kindly agreed to allow her to act as a support vessel - a role undertaken by previous States tugs during the regatta's long history.

It is anticipated that most of the cruisers will return to St Helier on Saturday but for those that can stay, and for the dinghies and smaller boats, there will be further racing on the Sunday.

Jersey Tourism have been working with the Gorey Regatta Association to make sure that the event will have plenty to attract the general public throughout Saturday, including al fresco dining, stalls and entertainment on the pier, and a children's sandcastle competition will be held on the beach near the Gorey Village slipway, starting at 2pm.

Entries for the regatta are still being accepted - the deadline is 15 June - and full details appear on the regatta website, www.goreyregatta.org

INTERNATIONAL ROLEX REGATTA: 2008 EVENT TO OFFER IRC DIVISION
For the 35th annual running of the International Rolex Regatta in March 2008, St. Thomas Yacht Club will welcome yachts sailing under the IRC rating rule as well as those sailing under the CSA (Caribbean Sailing Association) rating rule. The move--a first for the regatta and likely to set the trend for other Caribbean regattas--is intended to make it hassle-free for racing sailboats from the United States and Europe to compete.

"With the majority of new racing sailboats being designed to IRC, it makes sense to allow them the chance to race under the IRC rule in one of the world's best venues," said Regatta Co-Director John Sweeney. "We aren't abandoning CSA; we are simply offering options to the sailors, and with that, encouraging a larger international fleet."

Sweeney further explained that CSA certificate holders are eligible to obtain an IRC rating as well. "We encourage owners to investigate the requirements, and local measurers can assist in the process," said Sweeney.

"With this development, we expect to see competitive racing under both rules and a growing potential for IRC throughout the Caribbean," said US-IRC Executive Director John Mendez, adding that the event will again be part of the US-IRC Gulf Stream Series. "Yachts that are from the U.S. and already have their certificates can easily join the regatta; I view it like a passport that travels with you wherever you wish to sail."

The three-day International Rolex Regatta is scheduled for Friday, March 28 through Sunday, March 30, 2008

www.rolexcupregatta.com

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR - This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Letters are limited to 350 words. No personal attacks are permitted. We do require your name but your email address will not be published without your permission.

* From Georges Bonello DuPuis: re: What if the Kiwis win the Cup:
Is this a joke or what.?? More like sour grapes to me.. ! Now that Emirates Team New Zealand is kicking everybody's ass, the other teams start badmouthing them and say that Auckland is too far away for an Americas Cup.. Excuse me ! Wasn't the last cup a success.?

THE LAST WORD
Geniuses are like thunderstorms. They go against the wind, terrify people, cleanse the air. -- Soren Kierkegaard

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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