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SEVERE WEATHER WARNING DELAYS START OF ROLEX FASTNET RACE
The RORC Race Office announced at Saturday afternoon's Race & Weather briefing that the Rolex Fastnet Race start would be postponed for 25 hours due to the continued severe weather warning issued by the UK Met office. The first start for the 300 boat fleet will be Monday 13 August at 1100 BST.

The postponement is a first in the 83-year history of the race. The decision was made after consideration of the severe weather warnings issued by the UK Met Office, in order to ensure that the fleet is not in the exposed waters of the Western Channel and the Celtic Sea at the time that the predicted weather is expected.

With the forecast boding a fast race, plans for the finish in Plymouth remain in place with the prizegiving scheduled for Friday17th August at the historic Royal Citadel.

Chris Tibbs, the meteorologist for the Rolex Fastnet Race, has forecast a south-westerly wind, Force 3/4 (7 - 16 kts) for Monday's start. Tuesday should see the strongest winds, likely to be near the Lizard and Land's End with the wind south-southwest Force 6/7 (25 - 38 kts), with a possible increase to gale-force Force 8 (34 - 40 kts). By then, the bigger boats will be past and the smaller boats will still have options for shelter if the breeze strengthens.

Cooling its heels in Portsmouth is Mike Slade's brand-new super maxi canting keeled ICAP Leopard. The scratch boat in the Rolex Fastnet fleet, the 100-foot super maxi was launched in June but has been out sailing almost every day since. Slade commented, "I applaud the wisdom and preference to delay, as the smaller boats will have an option to continue on or not, while the bigger boats will be on their way." Slade says the new Leopard has a safe and comfortable rig, and while they've seen 30-40 knots and had the trysail and number five up, they have yet to sail in slamming seas and big gusts that this year's Rolex Fastnet could cook up.

Any of the bigger boats could easily beat the monohull record (since 1999, it stands at 2 days, 5 hours, 8 minutes), which would require an average speed of 11.5+ knots to do so. Given that in the recent Channel Race, ICAP Leopard averaged 14 -15 kts over an 11 hour race, it would be possible in the Rolex Fastnet to see similar average speeds and then it's a matter of a favourable wind direction for the shortest course sailed. The Super Zero class yachts would have to finish by Wednesday at 1748 BST.

New this year for the Rolex Fastnet is the OC Tracker system, which is capable of reporting a boat's position, speed and course at pre-determined intervals, and is programmable remotely. Friends, family, press and supporters can visit http://fastnet.rorc.org and click the tracking page to follow the race and results. Boats automatically report every 30mins (on the hour and half hour), and results and tracking are updated shortly after the report is received. The results will be overall and based on corrected time.

As of press time, six yachts had pulled out including the four-boat ORMA 60 trimaran class.

* The decision by the ORMA class to withdraw was based on three reasons:

1. A violent depression is deepening off the English coast with 35 to 40 knots of wind and very big seas (4 to 5m). In these extreme conditions with a course at 90 degrees to the wind, there is a considerable risk for the entire fleet and the ORMA multihull class in particular.

2. In deciding to postpone the start, the organisers made a single decision for all the boat classes, creating a delicate situation for the fastest boats like the ORMA multihulls, who could have completed the whole course prior to the depression if the start had been given on Sunday as originally intended.

Indeed, this delay should enable the small craft (small monohulls) to shelter, if necessary, in the ports along the South coast of England and sit out the passage of the centre of the depression... As for the multihulls, they would have found themselves in the heart of the depression without being able to take shelter. After discussions with the organisers and all the skippers from the class, this decision to cancel the start for the ORMA class was quickly deemed to be the only `reasonable' and `wise' solution, just two months away from the main sporting objective: the Transat Jacques Vabre.

3. Transat Jacques Vabre, the key event of the ORMA season!

All the trimarans had planned some 'revision' work after the Rolex Fastnet Race and the risk generated by a participation in this race in some extreme conditions could have endangered the teams' whole programme. -- Release from Franck David, ORMA Executive Director, translation by BYM News, www.bymnews.com/news/newsDetails.php?id=13689

Fastnet Event Site: fastnet.rorc.org

WORLD MATCH RACE TOUR: DANISH OPEN
Copenhagen, Denmark: Danish eyes were smiling today at the Danish Open. Both finalists Jesper Radich (DEN) and Peter Wibroe (DEN) are products of the Royal Match Race Center here in Skovshoved and gave the enthusiastic crowd an amazing display of Match Race sailing. In a close fought battle Radich emerged victorious with a 3-1 score line and a cheque for 100,000 Dkr (approx. $18,000).

After a poor start in race 1 Radich fought back to take the win, then in race 2 Wibroe came fast out of the blocks to take control of the race and level the score. A bounce back by Radich in match three saw him go to match point but it wasn't all going Radich's way. Match four saw Peter Wibroe engineer a penalty on to Radich, a fierce battle then ensued as the two crews fought their way around the course with Radich just putting enough distance between himself and Wibroe to shed the penalty right on the finish line and take the Danish Open.

The wind conditions on the final day were a big challenge for the sailors. The wind shifted direction constantly with max left to max right being 70 degrees. Third placed Ian Williams (GBR) of Team Pindar was full of praise for the organizers, the Royal Matchrace Center, "They were very difficult conditions out there today in our match against Sebastien (Col) for third place. We were lucky enough to choose the favoured side. For us the third place here is a good result, we keep our first place on the ISAF Ranking list and take the lead on the World Tour. At the same time I would like to praise the organisers for a really good event where everything worked perfectly and we would like to return next year." -- Flemming Vitus

Final Results

1. Jesper Radich, DEN
2. Peter Wibroe, DEN
3. Ian Williams, GBR
4. Sébastien Col, FRA
5. Björn Hansen, SWE
6. Jesper Bank, DEN
7. Sten Mohr, DEN
8. Philippe Presti, FRA
9. Staffan Lindeberg, FIN
10. Mathieu Richard, FRA
11. Paolo Cian, ITA
12. Rasmus Viltoft, DEN

danishopen.kdy.dk
www.worldmatchracingtour.com

EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST
Boatspeed Performance Sailcraft, the world renowned composite yard based in Somersby, Australia is seeking expressions of interest from parties with a view to management succession. Principals Peter and Sari Ullrich founded Boatspeed in 1986 building the Australian 18' skiffs and have built the business up to its present level constructing a string of famous boats including maxis 'Brindabella' and 'Bols' also maxi multis, Dame Ellen Macarthurs 'B&Q Castorama' and most recently Thomas Covilles 105' 'Sodebo'.

Boatspeed has a strong worldwide presence at the leading edge of this technology and operates from a purpose built facility boasting the largest composite oven in the Southern Hemisphere catering for vessels up to 160'. Boatspeeds registered Custompreg process is widely acknowledged as one of the industries most successful composite control systems.

www.boatspeed.com.au

SKANDIA COWES WEEK
The curtain came down on the 181st Skandia Cowes Week Saturday afternoon with the wind, sun and tides combining to provide a spirited final day's racing ahead of the official prize-giving this evening.

A familiar sight of flags flapping lifelessly on Cowes Parade greeted the fleet first thing this morning but by midday, the sea breeze had kicked in, as predicted by weather expert Chris Tibbs.

And so the sun sets on another hugely successful Skandia Cowes Week! A total of 997 entries experienced some world-class racing during the Week and enjoyed an exciting and varied social scene off the water in Cowes.

* Despite the weather not entirely playing ball it was an absolute cracker. My crew had a brilliant time and have all traipsed back to London with severe bruising, a few hangovers, glowing suntans ang big smiles on their faces...personally that was the best holiday I've had in a very long time despite finishing in 5th place overall in Class 9 IRC (not bad but could have been much, much better!)...

Anyhow, the list of thank you's is long, spearheaded by the army of volunteers who have selflessly given their time making sure that everything ran as smoothly as possible - thank you! Then to the officials - Stuart Quarrie, John Grandy, Patsy Carter, Mary Scott-Jackson, Peta Stuart-Hunt, Michelle Warner, Nerys James, Andre Oszmann, Tim Sewell, Andy Hazell...the list goes on and on but thank you to everyone involved...I have to say that competing sure was a heck of a lot better than standing on the banks or sitting in the media centre writing about the event!

I'll definitely be back next year at the world's best regatta! Thank you to everyone involved! -- Magnus Wheatley in rule69blog.com

Winners by class (boat name, skipper)

Black Group Overall: Amey Love Shack (Class 4 IRC), Tim Spalding
White Group Overall: Arbitrator (Etchells), Graham Bailey
Class 0 IRC: ICAP Leopard, Mike Slade
Class 1 IRC: Flash Glove, Colm Barrington
Class 2 IRC: WISC, Glynn Williams
Class 3 IRC: Holmatro, Sander Speet
Class 4 IRC: Amey Love Shack, Tim Spalding
Class 5 IRC: Alvine Jacobite, Harry Evans
Class 6 IRC: Fatjax, Iain Kirkpatrick
Class 7 IRC: Earls Court Boatshow, Adam Gosling
Class 8 IRC: Bullett, Howard Sellars
Class 9 IRC: Madelaine, Richard Donald
1720: La Licorne, Mark Greenaway
Beneteau 31.7: Electra, Andy Phelps
Beneteau 40.7: Amey Love Shack, Tim Spalding
Contessa 32: Drumbeat, Eldred Himsworth
Daring: Dauntless, Giles Peckham
Dragon: Princess Jalina, David Palmer
Etchells: Arbitrator, Graham Bailey
Farr 45: Henri Lloyd, Stacey Clark
Hunter 707: The Ant Hill Mob, Russell Mead
Flying 15: Men Behaving Badly, Rupert Mander
IRM: Henri Lloyd, Stacey Clark
J/Sprit: Mojo, Robin Stevenson
J/109: Shiva, Matthew Boyle
J/105: J-Dream, David Apthorp
J/92: Mojo, Robin Stevenson
J/80: Savage Sailing Team, Liz Savage
Laser SB3: Musto, Glenn Bourke
Multihull: Buzz, Phil Cotton
Nautor Swan Trophy: WISC, Glynn Williams
Quarter Tonner: Bullett, Howard Sellars
Redwing: Toucan, N/A
RS Elite: Eclipse, Ian Andrew
RS KS: Courageous, Richard Talbot
Seaview Mermaid: Sheen, N/A
Sigma 33: Workout, Jeff Worboys
Sigma 38: Beefeater, Adrian Ward
Solent Sunbeam: Daisy, Michael Moss and Michael Law
Sonar: Bertie, Simon Barter
Sonata: G-String, Kieron O'Connell
Sportsboats: Abstension II, N/A
Squib: Firecracker Too, N/A
Sunsail 37: Deloitte, Hamish Edsell
Swallow: Skua, Harry Roome
Swan 45: WISC, Glynn Williams
Victory: Zinnia, John Tremlett
X One Design: Swallow, Simon Russell
X332: Fatjax, Iain Kirkpatrick
X35: Kiss, David Pinner
Skandia Young Skippers: Holmatro (Class 3 IRC), Sander Speet

www.skandiacowesweek.co.uk

THE FASTNET QUIZ...
Last week's question:
When the winner of a Fastnet race announced that he intended to win the next race as well, he was roundly booed by attendees at the awards ceremony. What year, what boat? (Bonus points for why!)

Answer: 1939 Nordwind

Why? Because Nordwind was a German boat built for the North Sea High Command in Wilhelmshaven. From Ian Dear's history of the RORC: "No one present was left in any doubt what he was alluding to, and when the German crews gave the Nazi salute as Nordwind's skipper was handed his trophies they were roundly booed."

This week's question:
What was the first foreign boat to take part in a Fastnet race? (Bonus points for who designed her).

Two correct answer winners this week and for the following weeks of our contest: one will win a copy of the new Fastnet book "Beyond Endurance" ( see www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780771057557 ) Another lucky sailor wins a Dubarry T-shirt. Made from faded 100 per cent cotton, the Knot Ur Dubes T-shirt reveals how to tie the perfect deck shoe knot.

At the end of the competition, one entrant will win a pair of Dubarry Fastnet boots - combining Dubarry's proven performance with new styling and features. See the Dubarry Fastnet boot at dubarry.com

Submit your answer for this week's quiz question at:
www.scuttlebutteurope.com/index.php?option=com_philaform&form_id=5&Itemid=1

* Nordwind, designed by Henry Gruber, who had recently returned from New York where he worked with Starling Burgess, was the first German yacht design ever tank tested. Beautiful Nordwind set a course record in the UK's Fastnet race in 1939 of 88 hours and 23 minutes, which stood for two decades. After WWII, Nordwind was seized as a war prize and bought by Lord Astor, who raced her out of the Isle of Wight for nearly 20 years. From there, she fell into disrepair until Gerard Dijkstra directed her refit in Holland. Dr. Albrecht bought her from Italian classic boat collector Hugo Baravalle in 2001 and undertook another restoration in Mallorca, mostly to Gruber's original plans. While the original boat had a pleasant salon and Admiral's cabin, the rest of the interior was designed to house navy cadets and was thus Spartan and finished with linoleum and Bakelite. Today's Nordwind has a handsome teak cruising interior, although the original navy-mandated watertight bulkhead doors remain.

From the New York Yacht Club:
nyyc.org/gui/nemex_yc888/dups/Nordwind.htm

FIGARO RACE CUTS OUT FASTNET
The third leg of La Solitaire Afflelou Le Figaro from Brest to La Coruna, Galicia, got off to a clear start at 3 pm Sunday in the Rade de Brest in 8 knots of westerly breeze. Race Organisers called 50 competitors taking part in La Solitaire Afflelou Le Figaro race this morning to announce a change to the racecourse of the 3rd leg of the race due to the developing weather situation. The 762-mile course to La Coruna, which was to include the Fastnet Rock as a Race mark.

The Race Committee announced a change to the race route, which as a result cuts out the Fastnet Rock mark and includes the BXA mark to be left to starboard, opposite Bordeaux. The result is a 560-mile race as opposed to 762.

The gale force wind warning due on Tuesday at Fastnet together with the uncertainty as to how the depression will position itself and build over the race area has made the organisation to modify the race course and send the fleet south into the Bay of Biscay. The fleet will now round the BXA mark just opposite the Gironde estuary before heading for La Coruna in Spain.

The new 560-mile race is not going to be a walk in the park. The fleet will still experience tough conditions with strong wind from the South West, between 25 and 30 knots from BXA to La Coruna and particularly strong for the final 12 hours of the race. For the first 250 miles to BXA the solo sailors will have to firstly head downwind in a moderate North West breeze before the wind backs to the West and then to the Southwest under the effect of the southern part of the depression coming in. The latest weather routers predict a finish on the evening of the 15th of August.

* The competitors taking part in La Solitaire Afflelou Le Figaro have made steady progress into the third leg of the race from Brest to La Coruna in Northern Spain. Overnight, the turning tide at the Raz de Sein in light conditions under the shooting stars have given way to a steady 15 knot N NW wind to see the Figaro Beneteau boats down to the BXA passage mark. The all to familiar figure of Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) takes the lead once more…

The fleet is currently relatively bunched and evenly spread out across the axis of the rhumb line on a direct course south for the BXA mark opposite the Gironde estuary, 100 miles away. The wind is due to gently ease for tonight and gradually back round to the South West tomorrow. The sailors made the most of the relative calm this morning to get some sleep, eat and let the autopilots steer the boat. Saving energy before big front that is forecast to come in on Tuesday and continue into Wednesday, bringing some 30 to 35 knots of strong wind from the West for the later part of the race. The last 48 hours to the finish will be tough as the wind will be face on. -- Sabina Mollart-Rogerson

www.lasolitaire.com

PETERS & MAY AND AIR & OCEAN SHIPPING COMBINE TO SHRINK THE WORLD
Peters & May, the international yacht transportation specialist based in the UK, has acquired a majority shareholding in the fast-growing Air & Ocean Shipping, Inc. of Chicago. The merger of the two companies makes Peters & May the largest independent logistics company in the world specialising in yacht shipping.

This expansion of Peters & May in North America is a stepping stone in the company's plans to respond to the needs of customers and provide a uniformly high quality of service. With the combined expertise of nine strategically placed offices, turnover of over $100 million and customers on both sides of the Atlantic, Peters & May are well positioned for further growth.

www.petersandmay.com

TOSCANA ELBA CUP MATCH RACE POSTPONED
From the Yacht Club Arcipelago Toscano:

Too long negotiations and today I communicate to you that we didn't find yet the accord with the new sponsor for September event and the Elba Cup is postponed to a date to be defined as soon as possible.

Unfortunately the decision of Locman to leave the event so close the races has given a hard blow to the organisation and, in spite of a new sponsor it has declared to be available to support the Elba Cup, the same company don't believe there is enough time to give the right visibility and obtain, with the September event, the right answer to the economical investment.

So, we'll continue to work and we will come again in the match race world soon with a great event and a bigger new team of sponsors to realise an even stronger sail appointment.

Antonio Nappi, Elba Cup Manager

* Discord from Locman, pulling out of this year's event sponsorship, was reportedly because of the close timing (and geographical proximity) of the Latium Match Cup in Rome September 11-16. The Elba Cup was scheduled to sail from September 25-30.

FEATURED BROKERAGE
Class 40, Jaz Marine. Designed by Owen & Clarke, built by Jaz Marine in 2006. Lying Cowes, UK. 239,995 GBP.

The emerging Class 40 is another highly competitive circuit that is building and attracting sponsors as well as self financed ocean racing due to their cost and race program. She provides a very well put together boat: good pedigree and project management with almost all the tools and paper to start racing, could easily be ready for the next Transat Jacques Vabre (TJV) with minimal effort. Other races open to her-Route du Rhum, the OSTAR, the Global Ocean Challenge. These boat details are subject to contract. Note: Offers on the asking price may be considered.

Brokerage through Boatshed Performance.

Complete listing details and seller contact information at BoatsandOutboards.co.uk: www.boatsandoutboards.com/view/BS09925/

THE LAST WORD
Civilization is unbearable, but it is less unbearable at the top. -- Timothy Leary

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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