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GIRAGLIA ROLEX CUP
Although a number of boats crossed the finish line off Genoa late into the night on Friday through early Saturday morning, none were unable to alter Friday's provisional results. By 1800 hrs Friday, 126 boats had finished the Giraglia Rolex Cup race. With a south-easterly wind of approximately 15-20 knots blowing throughout the night, the rest of the fleet were expected to arrive before today's time limit of 1300 hrs. The comptetiors had started off St. Tropez on Wednesday at 1300 CET, giving them a full 72 hours to complete the 243-nautical mile course. However, by the time the prize giving ceremony began today, only 128 of the total 162 participants had officially finished the long offshore race.

Today at the prize-giving ceremony at the Yacht Club Italiano, Maurizio Biscardi's Comet 45, Libertine, took home the Rolex Challenge Trophy and the Bellon Challenge Trophy for being the first yacht overall on corrected time in the division with the most number of entries.

Neville Crichton's 100-foot canting-keel Super-maxi Alfa Romeo couldn't smash her own course record for this year's Giraglia Rolex Cup race, previously set by the 90-foot Alfa Romeo in 2003, but she definitely reconfirmed herself as the fastest boat of the fleet. Alfa Romeo won the Giraglia Rolex Cup race on elapsed time and was thus awarded the Rolex Trophy and the Rene Levainville Trophy, as well as the Beppe Croce Trophy for being the first to round the Giraglia Rock.

Ernesto Gismondi's Edimetra VI was the 1st Mini Maxi to finish the Giraglia Rolex Cup race and she won the combined trophy in the big boat division for the inshore and offshore races, while Atalanta II was 2nd.

Overall Results

IRC Class (Top 3)
1. Alfa Romeo, Neville Crichton (NZL), Super Maxi, 42:17:21
2. Damiani Our Dream, Claudio Uberti (ITA), Prototype, 47:10:47
3. K2 Wind, Nicholas Wrigley (GBR), Wally 77.4, 49:48:55

IMS Class Group A (Top 3)
1. Libertine, Maurizio Biscardi (ITA), Comet 45s
2. Edimetra VI, Ernesto Gismondi (ITA), Wally 65, 29:52:03
3. Bcube, Andrea Siano (ITA), 29:55:18

www.regattanews.com

CATAMARAN OKALYS CONQUERS THE BOL D'OR MIRABAUD
Geneva, Switzerland: The competitors and the public will never forget the start of the 69th edition of the Bol d'Or Mirabaud. Indeed, a lovely south westerly flow started blowing minutes after the departure, propelling the 526 yachts under spinnaker towards what the locals call the big lake. An unforgettable sight! The multihulls, who were starting on a separate starting line for the first time (for security reasons), rapidly took a comfortable lead as they blasted alongside Nyon, Morges, Rolle and their famous vineyards.

But this wasn't to last and all the sailors who have experienced the Bol d'Or know that nothing is ever acquired before the finish line. Indeed, Alain Gautier and his catamaran Foncia, who had taken a perfect start and dominated the race since the beginning, suddenly fell in a windless hole by the town of Lausanne, watching helplessly as their competitors closed the gap.

The large crowed reassembled at the Societe Nautique de Geneve had to wait a long time until Banque Syz & co, the first monohull, finally crossed the line after 13 hours 38' of fine tuning. Banque Syz precedes Tilt, another Seb Schmidt Psaros 40 design and the "old" French Connection Libera.

Nicolas Grange's one design catamaran, with Loick Peyron at the helm, is the winner of the 69'th edition of the Bol d'Or Mirabaud ahead of Alinghi and Axiom. The stunning Psaros 40 Banque Syz & co wins the monohulls class after a superb fight with Joe Richards's Full Pelt (GBR).

Slowly and patiently, the hundreds of yachts and thousand of sailors managed to negotiate the light breezes, closing the gap with the arrival line and the big party organised to celebrate their arrivals throughout the night. A slow but beautiful Bol d'Or Mirabaud under the stars.

www.boldormirabaud.com

SAILING ACADEMY PRINCIPAL/ CLUB COACH
Fremantle Sailing Club is a pre-eminent ocean based blue water sporting club. Applications are sought from highly experienced and motivated persons with Sailing management and development skills for the above position.

Applicants must possess coaching qualifications and be certified to conduct Yachting Australia programs. Please direct resumes to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Applications close Friday 29th June 2007.

BRIBON WINS THE CROWN FOR SPANISH MONARCH
While the King of Spain, Juan Carlos, was contemplating a siesta yesterday, his yacht, Bribon, was securing the Trofeo de Alicante for winning the first Breitling MedCup regatta without a blow being struck in anger.

There was no blow at all as a racing breeze refused to develop so the 22 of the 23 TP52s boats still standing could only turn on their engines and head back to dock. The 23rd, Alfonso Domingos' Bigamist 6, had retired hurt the previous day as Bouwe Bekking took Bribon to an emphatic coastal race victory which was to prove decisive.

His eight-point advantage over Peter de Ridder's Mean Machine turned the event into a Dutch one-two, with Italy's Vasco Vascotto third on the Spanish boat Mutua Madrilena.

Earlier in the week it had seemed the battle for the top spot would be between Russell Coutts in the Swedish-flagged Artemis and Ian Walker on the Galway-based Patches. A penalty and gear damage respectively scuppered their chances as they finished fourth and sixth but, as the season develops, they should be the boats to beat. -- Stuart Alexander in The Independent, sport.independent.co.uk/general/article2669907.ece

AMERICA'S CUP
There is little or no incentive for anyone to support a team other than commercially. Gone is that indefinable quotient that creates public support, except, notably, for the Kiwis. There are veritable droves of New Zealanders in Valencia to cheer on 'their team.' So far, there has been little visible support from Switzerland for Alinghi.

A return to greater nationalism might see greater media support for the event. The American journalists have been re-called, the few there were anyway, since the event does not conjure support in the land that gave the cup its name.

Even the ultra-rich are feeling the pinch. Any work done aboard a boat in the marina by outside contractors is subject to a 15% ACM levy, even though ACM has no facilities to offer, but one can only suppose that ACM needs to make as much money as it can.

Valencia, being a port town, has its usual quota of brothels, and in the port restructuring these were required to move two streets further from the water than they had been.

In order to advertise the services they provide, the brothels issued fliers that were tucked beneath the windscreen wipers of cars in the area. One went as far as to offer an 'America's Cup Special' for 30 Euros. One can only surmise this came with aggressive fore-play, but how will ACM claim its license fee on what is obviously ambush marketing? -- Bob Fisher in Sail-World.com, his complete editorial at www.sail-world.com/indexs.cfm?nid=34576

* New composite images of the yachts eligible to compete in The Match are now online at CupInfo.

The side by side bow comparison of those for New Zealand v those for the Swiss are telling. The blunt bows on SUI-91 and SUI-100 make sense when trying to push volume forward. Careful still photo study has revealed some more interesting features. Providing time allows, stay tuned, more to follow.

In the end, we see nineteen very different v5 boats, from twelve different syndicates, built for AC32.

A series regatta of unfortunate unexpected events? -- See www.cupinfo.com

QUITE POSSIBLY THE BEST WAY TO SEE THE CUP RACES IN VALENCIA.
Our Shosholoza team spectator boat has a reserved place in the front row of the VIP zone closest to the start box and laylines. And, our rooftop terrace overlooks Alinghi, so you'll be up close both on land and sea. We have live TV and expert commentators on board. Shaded upper deck. Full buffet lunch with drinks. All the fun you would expect from "The Soul of Sailing". Many hotels available, we can help book rooms. 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

SHOSHOLOZA'S IAN AINSLIE WINS THE TROFEO MARCONI
On 7-10 June, the Circolo Nautico G. Marconi in Santa Marinella hosted the Trofeo Marconi. The international field consisted of ten teams from France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, GBR, Australia and South Africa, at this Grade 3 match racing event and World Tour qualifier.

Champagne sailing conditions persisted throughout the first three days and after the round robin was complete on Saturday afternoon Frenchman Victor Lanier led with an 8-1 win-loss score line. South Africa and Team Shosholoza's Ian Ainslie lay second (7-2). Ali Hall, representing the Volvo Keelboat Squad, finished 3rd (7-2), with German skipper Tino Ellegast (6-3) also progressing to the semi finals.

The semis were hard fought but in the end Lanier and Ainslie emerged as clear victors over Ellegast and Hall.

Ainslie subsequently took all the plaudits and the Trofeo Marconi 3-0 in a relatively one-sided final against Lanier. Meanwhile, in the petit-final, Hall came back from 0-2 down to secure third place in a fifth and final race clincher.

1. Ian Ainslie, RSA
2. Victor Lanier, FRA
3. Ali Hall, GBR

NEW RECORD ENTRY FOR THE OPTIMIST WORLDS
A new record entry of 256 sailors for the IODA World Championship is reported by hosts the Y.C. Cagliari in Sardinia. 56 countries will be represented by up to five sailors per country. The event starts on July 22nd.

This is not a record number of countries. In 2000 to celebrate the millennium IODA sponsored entry and charter for over 20 countries and 252 sailors from 59 countries participated.

Missing by comparison with that record year are five African countries which this year have understandably elected to concentrate on the All-Africa Games where sailing is included for the first time. Cyprus, together with Estonia and Monaco have chosen to attend the IODA European Championship and at least four other countries have also preferred to attend their continental championships.

But in their place at the Worlds are countries which in many cases did not even have Optimists seven years ago such as the Dominican Republic, Netherlands Antilles and Kenya. Other absentees in 2000 included Ecuador, ranked 2nd in last year's Worlds, Australia which currently has one of the fastest growing Optimist fleets, Russia and Ukraine.

An interesting feature of this year's event will be whether at a potentially windy European venue the European teams which dominated seven years ago can stage a comeback. In 2000 of the top 20 sailors 16 were European: last year on the tricky waters of the Rio de la Plata there were only three! -- Robert Wilkes

www.optiworld.org

CHINA CUP
The first China Cup International Regatta will be held in Shenzhen during Oct 19 to 21.

The competition is approved by the Shenzhen People's Municipal Government and the General Administration of Sport of China, organized by the Water Sports Management Center of General Administration of Sport together with the Executive Authority, Organizing Committee of the 26th World University Games.

Racing rules will be strictly carried out based on the 2004-2008 rules of International Sailing Federation (ISAF) and ISAF approved juries will be used.

The regatta features two categories including rally race from Hong Kong to Shenzhen and race on territorial waters in Shenzhen Daya Bay.

In order to better launch the preparations, the Organizing Committee of China Cup International Regatta has devoted more than two years of work. 10 First 40.7 yachts purchased from Beneteau, the world biggest sailboat manufacturer will definitely grab the whole race's attention.

The China Cup will last for 3 days in the nice natural environment in the east of Shenzhen, a water area with approximately a hundred islands and rocks, a subtropical zone and pleasant oceanic climate providing enjoyable conditions for the sailors.

Currently, teams from America, Brazil, United Arab Emirates, Chile etc. have already registered for the race. The Organizing Committee announces that ten First 40.7 yachts of Beneteau are now officially recruiting foreign sailors. The Organizing Committee will provide for sailors who come with these First 40.7 yachts of Beneteau FOR FREE. Contact Angel Zhou, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

www.chncup.com

KIRSTY JONES KITEBOARDS FROM LANZAROTE TO MOROCCO
On May 13th world wave champion kitesurfer Kirsty Jones from Wales, UK, broke the kitesurfing world record by kitesurfing 140 miles from Lanzarote to Morocco, land to land. It took 9 hours, non stop.

She left from the beach in front of Lanzarote's grandest hotel, hotel Salinas in Costa Teguise, at 10am on May 13th and arrived in Tarfaya, Western Sahara, Morocco at 7pm. Her route took her up towards the Northern Sahara then down wind towards her final destination.

Kirsty had encountered very light wind 4 hours into the challenge which slowed her down and caused her to become sea sick because of the choppy sea and swell then luckily the wind picked up and she hit speeds of 40 kms. She was forced to change tack and angle to the wind on a few occasions to ensure she arrived at her destination making the journey even more tiring and difficult.

Kirsty used a 12m Flexifoil Iron Kite, a custom made 'Wave' board, and an S-Core 3mm wetsuit.

Kirsty's motivation was to raise money, equipment and awareness to a disabled charity in Morocco while bridging two continents, rich and poor through her passion for kitesurfing. Kirsty along with Youths United (an extreme events company who supported Kirsty in her venture) bought with them donated surf and windsurf equipment to give to a small club she helped to establish for the people in the village of Tarfaya to have the opportunity to learn water sports.

www.outdoornewswire.com

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INDUSTRY NEWS
* Following the success of the first Antibes Yacht Show this year, which drew 8,500 visitors over the Easter weekend, the date for next year's edition has been set for April 17-20.

Organisers have announced that the show will grow for 2008, with double the amount of mooring spaces in the quays of the Vieux Port, the Quai des Milliardaires and the Chantier Naval Op'ra in Port Vauban.

The event attracted 100 exhibitors displaying 70 yachts from 16.8m to 67.1m (55ft-220ft) this year, with professionals from around 20 different countries in attendance. -- International Boat Industry news (IBI): www.ibinews.com/ibinews/newsdesk/20070513114902ibinews.html

* Telenor Satellite Services, a subsidiary of Telenor of Norway (Oslo Stock Exchange: TEL and NASDAQ: TELN), has announced that it is developing a new broadband communications line of services for the maritime industry enabling seamless global roaming for data and voice communications at sea.

OceanRoam(TM) will provide vessels worldwide Internet and telephone connectivity around-the-clock using the ships' assigned IP addresses and telephone numbers regardless of location.

Telenor's OceanRoam will offer "always-on' Internet access and IP-based service at a fixed monthly price. The service will enable voice services and unlimited data transfer for ship's business and crew communications and will feature a variety of committed information rate (CIR) service levels up to 128 kbps. Additionally, OceanRoam will meet vessels' communications requirements for bandwidth intensive applications, such as video conferencing and large data transfers, by providing a series of optional bandwidth on demand information rates of up to 1024 kbps.

Commercial availability is planned for the 4th quarter of 2007.-- BYM News, www.bymnews.com/news/newsDetails.php?id=10141

* The 48th Hamburg International Boat Show will be partly held in five of the new halls at the revamped Hamburg Fair site, which is scheduled for completion in 2008.

Hanseboot will run from October 27 to November 4, and exhibition space has already increased by a further 5,000sqm (53,820sqft) to 78,000sqm (839,600sqft). In total the show will occupy 11 exhibition halls, as well as the hanseboot harbour.

There will be two new entrance areas to the A site, west of Karolinenstrasse, which will host motorboats and yachts as well as series-built and one-off sailing yachts of all sizes.

From there, a glass-enclosed pedestrian bridge provides a link to the B site, east of Karolinenstrasse. The new B6 hall is the largest on site and will feature equipment and accessories across 13,000sqm (13,9900sqft) of space.

Some 900 exhibitors from 30 nations will be showcasing more than 1,200 boats and yachts, with numerous premieres from entry level to high-class ocean-going yachts. -- IBI, www.ibinews.com/ibinews/newsdesk/20070512165620ibinews.html

* Blue Ocean Wireless ('BOW'), an Irish company focused on delivering GSM communication capability for the merchant maritime sector, today announced that Bank of Scotland (Ireland) has acquired a 10% equity interest in BOW. The investment now values Blue Ocean Wireless at approximately USD 48 million.

Blue Ocean Wireless will, together with Inmarsat, Stratos and a leading GSM network operator, provide a dedicated global GSM service for crew members of merchant ships. Blue Ocean Wireless' service will, for the first time, enable seafarers to use their existing mobile phones on board vessels in deep ocean water in exactly the same way that they would do in port or on land. BOW will also enable ship owners, insurers and government authorities, as well as suppliers and customers, to track and monitor individual containers on board merchant vessels as they traverse the globe using a combination of GPRS and RFID technology. -- BYM News, www.bymnews.com/news/newsDetails.php?id=10070

* In recent weeks, the first five of a new network of RS Academies have been created, offering sailors the opportunity to train in an RS. LDC Racing Sailboats are forming partnerships with high standard RYA-approved centres, staffed by RYA-qualified professional instructors, to create high-quality sail training venues across the UK.

The wide variety of courses that are offered at the individual sail-training centres are coupled with the breadth of the RS range to offer a unique opportunity for the sailor to find the perfect course in the most appropriate boat. For many Centres who already have an RS fleet, such as Portsmouth Outdoor Centre, gaining RS Academy is a natural progression. -- www.rssailing.com

* Future Fibres has achieved Germanischer Lloyd Type Approval for its superyacht range of PBO rigging cables and is, to date, the only composite rigging company to have Classification Society approval.

For 140 years Germanischer Lloyd (GL) has been offering its services to the shipping industry and setting standards in technology, safety and quality. GL is recognised by the superyacht industry as a leading authority in its field, and its endorsement of Future Fibres' products comes at a time when superyacht owners and project managers are rapidly recognising the benefits of lightweight PBO rigging.

THE LAST WORD
Start by doing what is necessary, then do what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible. -- Saint Francis of Assisi

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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