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NEW ZEALAND PROTEST IS DISMISSED
By a majority decision the Jury dismissed the protest that Emirates Team New Zealand filed against Alinghi following race four. The Jury was not satisfied that Alinghi broke America's Cup Class Rule 31.6, which reads: "Mainsails shall be able to be lowered to the deck without the necessity of a crew member going aloft."

In its decision, the Jury noted it is at the discretion of the Measurement Committee to take any further steps it feels necessary to ensure yachts are in compliance with the America's Cup Class Rule.

Emirates Team New Zealand filed the protest after watching television footage that showed one of the normal post-race measurement checks. The measurers asked both teams to lower their mainsails, without the assistance of a man aloft, to demonstrate compliance with ACC Rule 31.6. Emirates Team New Zealand lowered its mainsail without a man aloft, to the satisfaction of the measurers.

The Alinghi team asked the measurer who had boarded SUI 100 if they could raise a man up the mast to fix a halyard (which wouldn't be put under tension) to the mainsail, for safety reasons, to prevent the sail from being damaged if it came down uncontrollably, and the measurer on board agreed to this request.

Alinghi bowman Pete Van Niewenhuyzen was raised to the top of the mast, fixed the halyard and held his arms out, to show that he wasn't assisting or interfering with the process. The halyard lock was tripped, and the mainsail was lowered to the deck. At the time, the measurer was satisfied with the demonstration.

But the television footage showed Van Niewenhuyzen's foot making contact with the mainsail as he swung around the mast with the boat rolling in the unsettled sea state. For Emirates Team New Zealand, that was enough to question whether he had interfered in the process. The team filed the protest later that afternoon, within the protest time limit.

Following a five hour hearing this morning, the five-member Jury dismissed Emirates Team New Zealand's protest.

http://www.americascup.com

* Photos from race four courtesy Thierry Martinez, http://www.thmartinez.com and Gilles Martin-Raget, http://www.martin-raget.com in the Eurobutt Gallery: http://scuttlebutteurope.com/photos/

DOMINANCE AT THE 2007 ULLMAN SAILS LONG BEACH RACE WEEK
Congratulations to Ullman Sails customers who won both One-Design and PHRF Boat of the Week awards, and won majority of classes in the final regatta of the 2007 Ullman Sails Inshore Championship series. Bennet Greenwald's J/105 "Perseverance" won regatta's largest and most competitive One-Design fleet (15 boats), while Alec Oberschmidt's Reichel/Pugh 50 "Staghound" won Fast 50 class, claiming the PHRF award. Other winners with Ullman Sails: Fast 40 "The Doc", Sportboat "Pendragon", Schock 35 "Power Play", J/109 "Current Obsession", Melges 24 "Pegasus 505", J/29 "Cherry Bomb", and Cal 25 "Discovery".

For the "Fastest Sails on the Planet" visit http://www.ullmansails.com

SEAHORSE SAILOR OF THE MONTH
Last month's winner: Dave Ullman (USA)
'Well done Dad... when I'm 61 I hope to be lying on a tropical beach! I'm very proud of you' - Jacob Ullman; 'One of the most talented sailors in the world... and one of the nicest' - Dave Kellogg; 'Dave represents the very best about sailing' - Brian Hutchinson; 'Hell, of course I hope Dave wins, I was crewing him!' - Brent Ruhne; 'One of the glories of my career was rounding the top mark at the 470 Worlds in Cascais in '82 overlapped inside Dave, then bearing off hard to get low to escape the discomfort of his intense gaze... Well done Dave, age over beauty every time!' - Fred Melo.

This month's nominees:

Marcelino Botin (ESP)
Whether or not there is any real linkage between Botin's skill at drawing competitive boxy old IMS designs and equally competitive (though prettier) boxy ACC designs is less significant than that Emirates' lead designer jointly -created a Louis Vuitton Cup winner at his first attempt. Among several shrewd new hirings by Grant Dalton, this was surely one of the shrewdest

Graham Dalton (NZL)
Some people can turn a success out of defeat and on his second solo round the world race Graham Dalton assuaged the myriad failures of his first Around Alone, persevering on through the harshest circumstances, this time largely not self-inflicted, while honouring the memory of his late son after whom his boat is named. That eventually time ran out for this brave Kiwi was almost irrelevant. A fine achievement.

Cast your vote at http://scuttlebutteurope.com

Seahorse Sailor of the Month is sponsored by Harken McLube, Dubarry & Henri Lloyd.

MOTH EUROPEAN AND WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
From Rohan Veal, http://www.rohanveal.com :
With moderate winds forcasted, those that had a MSL9 put it up for heat 3 scheduled at 1pm. However when entering the water we realised something was different, with all the unusual weather we had recently, the water temperature dropped 13 degrees in the last 24 hours. Most were not dressed and barely survived the first race. I certainly was not dressed appropriately but managed to pull the best start off the boat, stayed dry for the entire race and win heat three by 3-4 minutes. I have no idea of what was going on behind me as there was quite a gap, so you are best to read another blog. But I do remember Scott being first around the top mark, the rest is a blur.

In between races, the cold wind picked up to around 18-20 knots and most were near freezing point.

So after five races, we now have a series and Scott is sitting comfortably in third. It seems likely that Simon, Sam and Graham will fight it out for the next few places but I think certainly the wind, water, boat preparation and speed will determine who gets third overall. Amac had a bad day today, so will be pushed back into the fleet for sure, but I think he best is yet to come now that the new foils have arrived. Les Thorpe is another Australia that is also sailing very consistently and will certainly be up there in the overall results.

* There's also some great commentary from the WAGS (wives and girlfriends), International Moth Class Association site, http://www.int-moth.org.uk/ResultsWorlds07.htm

Top five after five races:
1. Rohan Veal, AUS, 5 points
2. Scott Babbage, AUS, 14
3. Sam Pascoe, GBR, 24
4. Les Thorpe, AUS, 36
5. Jason Belben, GBR, 46

Event site: http://www.circolovelatorbole.com

* Photos from sailing on Wednesday, courtesy Oskar Kihlborg, http://www.kihlborg.se who noted "racing cancelled due to strong winds but some crazy Englishmen sailed anyway", on the Eurobutt gallery: http://scuttlebutteurope.com/photos/ in the World Championships section. Mad dogs and Englishmen...

TIME TO DITCH THE CANVAS TOTE
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View the collection at http://www.truewindusa.com/index7.asp

RECORD NUMBER OF FARR 40s HIT NORWEGIAN WATERS
The Scandinavian Championship for Farr 40 starting at Hanko, Norway next week has attracted a fleet of no less than 31 boats. The quality of the crew, many arriving straight from Valencia indicates a spectacular event unlike anything seen in Norway before.

A number of the Farr 40 will be crewed by skippers, helmsmen or tacticians from America's Cup teams. Vasco Vascotto, Mascalzone Latinos skipper will resume the position as tactician on Nerone, Sten Mohr who replaced Chris Dickson as helmsman on BMW Oracle in the last race of the Louis Vuittons Cup's semifinal serves as tactician on Barking Mad and the tactician on Desafio Espanol, John Cutler, takes a similar position on Le Renard. The tactician on Aleph, Tierry Peponnet was also part of the afterguard on Areva Challenge.

Vincenzo Onorato, the owner of Mascalzone Latino will be sailing his Farr 40 of the same name at Hanko.

There are also rumours that Tommaso Chieffi and Paolo Chian from Team Shosholoza, and Jesper Bank, skipper and helmsman for the German United Internet Team will be racing at Hanko.

The racing starts 5th July and will run until 8th July. -- Mikkel Thommessen

ISAF SAILING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: THE SHOW BEGINS
The ISAF Sailing World Championships are scheduled to start on 28 June and until 13 July Cascais will host a unique show on its waters. Eleven World Championship titles are at stake as well as the qualification for 75% of the fleet that will go to Qingdao for the 2008 Olympics.

The numbers are amazing: 1,399 sailors, 76 nations, distributed across 945 boats on 11 classes. Three hundred and six races will take place on five race courses with an equivalent area of 1,270 football fields.

The first day of the Championships will be dedicated to administrative procedures and measurements of the boats and the opening of the Press Centre on the venue. Media awareness on this competition is more than obvious as more than 200 journalists, Portuguese and international, are already accredited.

The Opening Ceremony is scheduled for 21:30 on 2 July with a multimedia show on Cascais Bay.

Nations: 76
Sailors: 1,399
Boats: 945
Race courses: 5
Races: 306
Staff members: 500 (222 volunteers)
Largest fleet: Great Britain - 96 sailors

http://www.cascaisworlds2007.com

HARKEN UK REGATTA SUPPORT, COWES 02/07/07 – 11/08/07
As a company our primary goal is supporting you, our customers. Our Technical Service Team is only a phone call away for hardware selection, installation advice or problem solving.

This year our Service Van will be at Cowes Yacht Haven supporting the following events:
- Swan 45 Worlds
- Swan Europeans
- Cowes Week
- 6M Worlds
- Classic Regatta

Come and meet the Tech Team in the Harken Service Van, Cowes Yacht Haven.

Contact Details
Service Van: 07969 299848
Technical Enquiries: 01590 689122
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website: http://www.harken.co.uk

SHORT TACKS
* The Water Wag World Championships will take place in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland as part of Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta on 13th. - 15th. July.

This is the 120th. Season of One-Design Amateur sailing for the Water Wag Club. 20 entries have been received to date and more are expected.

Seven inshore and offshore matches ( matching the skill of the helmsman ) are proposed within the harbour of Dun Laoghaire and in Scotsman's Bay. As always the competition between new boats such as Olympian Cathy Murphy in 'Mollie 2' (launched in 2006) and the older boats such as Rupert and Sue Westrup in 'Sprite' ( 1905) will be intense. Defending champions David and Sally Mc. Farlane in 'Moosmie' is currently the strongest contender of the older boats while International Dragon Sailor John Ross Murphy in 'Little Tern' is the dark horse of the event.

* Spirit of Canada Ocean Challenges has successfully conducted the mandatory 180 degree rollover test. The test was conducted on June 19th with about 120 media and onlookers present. Watch the YouTube video of the test and interview with Derek at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIplsOf_DBQ

Spirit of Canada is a 60 foot single-handed high performance sailboat built to be raced by Derek Hatfield in the Vendee Globe around the world race in 2008.

The IMOCA (International Monohull Open Class Association) safety rules stipulate that every Open 60 must prove to be self-righting and built to the design specifications as outlined by the class association. This critical test requires that the boat be self righting without any outside assistance. To complete the test, Derek was inside the boat with hatches closed while the boat was turned upside down with a crane.

* Volvo Ocean Race Podcast: This week we're in Valencia and look at the magnificent start to the America's Cup Final. We hear from Mr Alinghi himself Ernesto Bertarelli who provides us with a behind the scenes insight into the absorbing third race.

We also look to the World Championships in Cascais and hear from rival pairings in the 49ers - current European champions Stevie Morrison and Ben Rhodes and also reigning World Champions Chris Draper and Simon Hiscocks.

As ever, live Thursday afternoon/Friday morning at http://volvooceanrace.org/podcast/

* TEAMORIGIN, the British sailing team intending to bid for the 33rd America's Cup, today announced a key partnership in their ongoing development. They have made a formal agreement with the Royal Thames Yacht Club to be their official Challenging Yacht Club, a mandatory requirement for all Challengers prior to entering the America's Cup.

TEAMORIGIN has chosen to partner the prestigious Royal Thames Yacht Club after a careful selection process. The Royal Thames offers not only the benefits of a modern and flexible organisation but also boasts strong historical ties to the America's Cup. Established in 1775, the Royal Thames is the oldest Royal yacht club in Britain and was the first Challenging Yacht Club for the America's Cup in 1870, backing the British bid with Cambria following the inaugural victory of Schooner America in 1851. -- http://www.teamorigin.com , http://www.royalthames.com

JAN LINGE
Jan Linge has passed away on Monday June 26, 2007. He was 85 years old.

On behalf of the International Soling Association and Soling sailors and friends from all over the world I want to pay the most honourable respects to the family and close friends. I wish them strength in these difficult times.

With Jan, the Soling Class died a bit too. When he designed the Soling over 30 years ago, he could not have foreseen the bright future of his child.

I remember Jan giving a speech at the closing ceremony of the 1999 Europeans in Norway. The room was full of sailors who listened to him like a child listens to its father. Jan explained that of all the boats he designed and build the Soling was his favourite. In his own unique words he told the sailors that since the Soling was his favourite child, the people loving and sailing it were his favourite grandchildren. Like all sailors who were there, I was deeply touched by his devotion and love.

Jan has been of great value for the sport of sailing all over the world. Not only did he have two of his designs sailing at the Olympic Games, he has given so many the joy of just being on the water. Sailing itself has changed because of Jan Linge and that is an achievement only few have reached.

I will remember him as a passionate sailor and designer, who has not only given me the joy of sailing the Soling, but so many others as well. His contribution to the Soling class and the ISA Committee is beyond recognition

He will be missed.

Johan Offermans
President International Soling Association

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 Peter Harken: Mr. Thorpe is inaccurate regards the spectator fleet interfering with the AC racing. The fleet is well back by sometimes over zealous security patrol boats, nothing new, and can't even get to the windward mark from the starting area around the outside of the big perimeter due to the 5 knot speed control imposed before the 9-10 knot windward speed AC boats reach the weather mark. TV viewing has very little accurate to none depth perception and makes all background action look as if it's in your lap so don't be fooled by it. When the two boats look like they are almost side by side, they are actually much farther apart. Only a bird's eye video shot will give an accurate separation view. Most of us in the spectator fleet have to spend 90% of our time looking at the TV on the boats to see what is actually going on unless you have the equivalent visionary like power of the space satellite Hubble Telescope!

Keep watching, all is well here and it's the most AC exciting racing in a long time. The boats are extremely even on an average and the crews both exceptionally even and super excellent! The third race had to be one of history's nailbiting best just second to 1983's last race of the Cup turnover.

THE LAST WORD
I value my garden more for being full of blackbirds than of cherries, and very frankly give them fruit for their songs. -- Joseph Addison

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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