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TRANSAT 6.50 CHARENTE-MARITIME / BAHIA 2007
After 48 hours of being locked in La Rochelle harbour after the start was postponed last Sunday, the 89 skippers started the race at 12h38 Tuesday for a 1,100 miles first leg to the Madeira archipelago.

The cold font wind that had provoked the postponement of the race's start has stabilised to 15 knots (North - North/East). The 89 skippers could then escape to South West after having gone round the turning buoy first. The turning buoy, located 1.5 nautical miles from the start line was the only mark of the coastal route.

As planned, the wind started moderating, obliging the skippers to put a reef again, with the spinnakers flying. The Minis were then still at the top of their form, gliding harmoniously... The fleet started then to spread out... A couple of hours after the start the gap between the firsts and the lasts were already several nautical miles long. The 16th Transat Charente-Maritime/Bahia has started with the best conditions possible to get through the Gascoigne gulf as quickly possible; with a fast run to Madeira some sailors could finish the first leg in less than 6 days.

Only noteworthy incident at the start, Slovenian Andraz Mihelin (Adria Mobil Too) was hit by a spectator boat. Andraz is one of the favourites of the race; the collision seems to have seriously damaged his boat (one of the centreboards). The Slovenian has chosen to continue racing. No other incidents have been reported at press time.

www.transat650.org

RYA UNVEILS ITS FIRST BEIJING NOMINATIONS
Following the first phase of its Olympic trials process, the Royal Yachting Association has today (Tuesday 18 September) named the first phase of sailors it will recommend to the British Olympic Association to compete at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Tim Hancock, Chairman of the RYA's Olympic Steering Group and a member of the RYA selection committee, unveiled the sailors at a reception held at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy - home of the 2012 Olympic sailing competition - where international Olympic Classes sailors have gathered prior to the start of the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta on Wednesday (19 September).

The following sailors have been selected by the RYA's Olympic Selection Committee, and will be nominated to the British Olympic Association at the earliest available opportunity:

Yngling - women's keelboat
Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson

49er - skiff
Stevie Morrison and Ben Rhodes

Laser - men's one person dinghy
Paul Goodison

The following sailors have been selected by the RYA's Olympic Selection Committee, and will be nominated to the British Olympic Association subject to the agreement of, and delivery against, certain performance targets:

RS:X - men's windsurfer
Nick Dempsey

RS:X - women's windsurfer
Bryony Shaw

470 - men's two person dinghy
Nick Rogers and Joe Glanfield

470 - women's two person dinghy
Christina Bassadone and Saskia Clark

Tornado - multihull
Leigh McMillan and Will Howden

In the Laser Radial class (women's one person dinghy) the trials process will continue for a shortlist of four sailors - namely Charlotte Dobson, Penny Clark, Andrea Brewster and Lizzie Vickers - whose performances will be assessed at a number of regattas in the spring of 2008.

In the Finn (heavyweight dinghy) and Star (men's keelboat) classes, the RYA's selectors have deferred their selection decisions, pending further discussions with the sailors concerned.

www.skandiateamgbr.com

* Statement from Shirley Robertson: "I am very sad and disappointed following today's decision by the RYA not continue the Olympic trials for the Yngling's. Whilst Sarah Ayton and her team have had an excellent year, we were the only British class where the top two teams were so close, with both teams finishing on the podium at the ISAF World Championships in July. Having had just 8 months preparation for the World Championships I truly believe we haven't had the chance to prove ourselves in the crucial Olympic year.

In not extending the trials today I believe the RYA has taken the easy decision. Anything less than a gold medal in the Yngling class at next years Olympics will leave questions unanswered about the RYA's selection proce! ss.

I have no regrets about our campaign in the last year; I enjoyed it and feel humbled by the support I was given by my family and sponsors Volvo, JPMorgan Asset Management, Isle of Wight Economic Partnership and BT.

Lots of people will view this as my retirement, however sailing is one of the few sports that rewards age and experience. Sailing with Annie Lush and Lucy Macgregor has been one of the best experiences of my 16 year Olympic sailing career and we are left feeling like there is unfinished business.

Who knows where my future lies, but for now I will continue to race professionally away from the Olympic circuit at selected events on the JPMorgan Asset Management Extreme 40 catamaran, present CNN's monthly sailing TV programme and enjoy spending more time with my one-year old twins.

I would like to add my congratulations to Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson and hope they continue their current form and bring home gold next year."

* Overnight (NZT) there has been controversy over the announcement of the first nominations for the British Olympic team, with only three of the eight crews/classes unconditionally nominated.

A further five are subject to various conditions, with two - the Finn and the Star being subject to further discussion - after the announcement of Ben Ainslie and Iain Percy in the British America's Cup Challenge in the weekend.

Whether these professionals can do both is a matter of discussion - and based on the New Zealand America's Cup experience, you probably can't.

For the British, the options with the Finn and the Star are to either select second string sailors, or send the top sailors and hope. In Ainslie's case there is some merit in the nominate and hope approach - as he stepped into the Finn for the first time in 2006, sailed in the Qingdao Pre-pre Olympics and won hands down. He repeated the feat this year - albeit with a little more boat time.

Four of those nominated were Gold medallists at the 2007 pre-Olympic event - where Britain won five gold medals and a silver out of the 11 events sailed.

There was further controversy in the early closing out of the Olympic Trial process in the Yngling class with 2004 Olympic Gold medallist in the class, Shirley Robertson not being selected, in spite of her record of two Olympic Gold medals and a bronze medal in the Yngling at the 2007 World Championships.

Early closing of trials is a vexed issue, with the trade-off of the benefits of early selection of the nominated crew being traded off against a possible loss of form where the selection options are close. In the case of the Yngling, Robertson and her crew demonstrated the other downside of early nomination, by announcing the immediate shutdown of her 2008 Olympic campaign, leaving the nominated crew without a top domestic training partner for the next 11 months.

Robertson's situation also underlines the difficulties of late developing campaigns under the British system - where she took time out after 2004 to have a family. She really only started back on the Olympic program eight months ago, with some very good results - sufficient to have her as an automatic choice in most other nation's line-up for Qingdao. -- Richard Gladwell in www.Sail-world.com

CORK WEEK ANNOUNCES CARROLL CHALLENGE CUP FOR TP52
Planning for the TP52 2008 Season is well underway and a new trophy is up for grabs.

The Organisers of Cork Week 2008 have announced that The Carroll Challenge Cup will be awarded to the best TP52 racing under IRC next July at Cork Week which takes place from July 12th to July 18th next.

The Trophy was presented to the Royal Cork Yacht Club in the summer of 1858 and it was a prize in Club Races during the 1850s and 1860s. It has pride of place in the Club Trophy Cabinet and the decision to award it to the prestigious TP52 is sure to attract interest from across the class which is set to grow by the addition of 10 new boats this year.

The first entries for Cork Week 2008 have already been received and organisers are looking forward to the most successful event yet

Full details of the event, can be found at www.corkweek.ie or +353 21 483 1179 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

THE FASTNET QUIZ...
Last week's question:
Who was the youngest person to sail in a Fastnet? He was so young, in fact, that when his father applied for a cadet membership for him four years after sailing the Fastnet, the application was rejected for he was still under the cadet membership minimum age of 15?

Answer: Russell Long, son of Huey Long, who owned a series of boats named "Ondine." Huey filed for a RORC cadet membership for his son who had sailed with him in the 1963 race. His application was rejected, as the minimum age for cadet memberships in 1967 was 15.

From Ian Dear's history of the RORC: "By way of recompense the committee had a gilt RORC plaque engraved and sent to the boy. It read 'Russell Long. Aged seven. Fastnet race 1963".

Two correct answer winners this week: one has won a copy of the new Fastnet book "Beyond Endurance" ( see http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780771057557 ) Another lucky sailor has won the famous Dubes T-shirt. This soft texture 100 per cent cotton T-shirt reveals the secret of the famous Knot Ur Dubes deck shoe knot.

As this was the final week of our contest, one entrant will be chosen at random to receive a free pair of Dubarry Fastnet boots. The winner to be announced later this week.

Thank you to all the hundreds of sailors who submitted answers over the past 3 months.

Watch this space for another contest starting soon!

CONGRATULATIONS TO FRANCK CAMMAS & CREW ON "GROUPAMA III"
Gori propeller is the chosen brand of propeller for high performance multi hulls and grand prix yachts, including GROUPAMA III, which broke the record crossing the Atlantic in less than 4 days, with an average speed of 28.1 knots.

Gori propeller when folded does not auto rotate, and has the lowest drag of all sailboat propellers. Find out more at www.gori-propeller.com

SHORT TACKS
* The 99-year-old yacht designer luminary Olin Stephens was admitted to hospital in late July suffering from an infection. Doctors also found that he was suffering from a dangerous build up of pressure in his skull. The details are unclear, but Olin has now left the hospital and is back to normal life.

Doctors have pronounced a 100 per cent recovery, something that surprised them - but it's not quite such a surprise to those who know of Stephens's extraordinary vitality. He will be 100 next April. -- Steffan Meyric Hughes, Classic Boat, www.classicboat.co.uk/auto/newsdesk/cbnews.htm

* British ocean racing yachtsman Mike Golding has been awarded the Royal Humane Society's Silver Medal for bravery in recognition of his outstanding rescue of fellow British sailor, Alex Thomson, from his stricken Open 60 yacht during the 2005/6 Velux 5 Oceans solo round the world race.

On the 24th of November 2006, while racing from Bilbao, Spain to Fremantle, Australia the two yachts were battling for position deep in the! Southern Ocean between Antarctica and South Africa, more than 1000 miles from shore. In the grip of a Southern Ocean storm the two were clocking extraordinary daily averages when Alex had a major structural failure on his yacht Hugo Boss. Alex called for assistance as the yacht was in danger of sinking.

Golding immediately suspended racing when he realised that his fellow competitor was in trouble. He turned his Open 60 yacht ECOVER around and battled upwind for 90 miles to find and locate Hugo Boss in the millions of square miles of the Southern Ocean. The rendezvous and transfer of Alex from his stricken boat to ECOVER was not made easy by the large Southe! rn Ocean swell and mechanical problems onboard ECOVER which affected the drive system, normally only called upon to manoeuvre the boat into harbour. Thomson had to take to his liferaft to avoid the risk of the two yachts smashing against each together. The rescue itself took over two hours.

* Gipsy Moth IV sailed into Southampton Boat Show on Saturday 15th September for her first public engagement since returning from her round the world voyage.

The 54ft ketch, famously sailed around the world in 1966-67 by Sir Francis Chichester will be open to the public, who will be able to get onboard and speak to UKSA staff about her 28,000 mile second circumnavigation and find out about the yacht's future.

Since her return to UK waters Gipsy Moth IV has been hard at work taking groups of young people, including children from the Ellen MacArthur Trust, out on adventurous sailing experiences in the Solent. Members of the public have also taken advantage of the range of Gipsy Moth IV sailing experiences now available via UKSA and taken to the water aboard the classic yacht.

Gipsy Moth IV will be on the features berth at the Southampton Boat Show on Saturday 15th September. To make a donation or to book a Gipsy Moth IV Sailing Experience visit www.uksa.org/gipsymoth

* Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal, officially launched the Royal Southern Yacht Club's charitable trust at the Southampton Boat Show today.

Formed in 1837, The Royal Southern Yacht Club is based at Hamble, near Southampton.

Mrs Annette Newton, Commodore of the Club, explained that historically the Royal Southern has supported a number of charities, including taking disabled people out on the water through RYA Sailability. Following a recent bequest by a member of the Club, the late Sir Michael Cobham, it was decided to establish The Royal Southern Yacht Club Trust to continue to promote the advancement of amateur sport and, in particular, the provision of facilities and assistance to enable and encourage participation in sailing and yachting.

SOUTHAMPTON BOAT SHOW
The Southampton Boat Show in association with ITV Meridian returns to Mayflower Park this September. Celebrating its 39th year the Show, which has Europe's largest purpose built on-water marina, takes place from 14-23 September 2007. This year, the Show will see an exciting line up of famous boats on the feature berth of the Hydropool Marina. Not only will Sir Robin Knox-Johnston be there with his Open 60 "Lombard Marine Finance:, along with Mike Golding and the Open 60 ECOVER but TEAMORIGIN, Official Challenger for the 33rd America's Cup, will bring the newly liveried GBR 75 race training America's Cup boat to the Show.

www.southamptonboatshow.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 Paul Bryans: You have carried letters from various correspondents concerning Warrants for special ensigns still being in existance for non British yacht clubs.

In fact there are many overseas clubs which still hold warrants for special ensigns, not all of them in commonwealth countries. In particular there are two Irish clubs which still have that right, as well as clubs in: Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, Bermuda, India, Jamaica, Malta, Bahamas, Gibraltar and Hong Kong but none in South Africa. This year I saw a yacht wearing a "British" Royal Irish YC ensign.

The full list is in the Navy List and the 2006 list can be seen at www.rncom.mod.uk/uploadedFiles/RN/Reference_Library/e_navy_list_2006.pdf

Neither the Royal Natal Yacht Club nor the Royal Cape Yacht Club appear on the list although the Royal Bombay Yacht Club does.

Does anybody have a real explanation for this and could new names be added to the "foreign list" or is it just an historic hang over?

* From Luuk Clercq: re: question from Hugh Loewenthal: Here in the Netherlands most boats fly the national flag at the stern. About one third of the flag poles are bent in the upper third; why? Nobody I have asked here seems to know the answer - can your community help a puzzled Australian?"

And here is my reply:

The shape of the flag pole in the Netherlands is historically dictated by the shape of the gaff in the original rig design. The different "platbodems (flatbottom designs)" (according to historians the first boats to be used for pleasure and called jacht, the basis for yacht) had either a curved or straight gaff, the flag pole is supposed to be in the same shape. Today the decision to have either a curved or a straight flag pole is for most of the people a matter of taste. I hope this answer is sufficient.

* From John Rousmaniere: Hal Sisk is absolutely correct that British and Irish clubs furthered the then-radical notion of Corinthianism, which is that amateurs not only can but should manage a tiller. In 1871 some New York small-boat sailors who were fervent readers of the cousins' sporting magazines founded the first U.S. yacht club requiring non-professional helmsmen. This was the Seawanhaka Yacht Club, which carries the Native American name for Long Island, where the club is based at Oyster Bay. When the founders later added the revolutionary word itself to the club's name, making it the Seawanhaka Corinthian, according to the yachting journalist and historian W. P. Stephens they were widely ridiculed "on the grounds of snobbery and the aping of English ideas."

But this idea was not just English. Back in 1846, the two-year-old New York Yacht Club ran a race for amateur helmsmen in schooners and big sloops. It turned out that the sailors were not quite ready to handle those large craft comfortably, and the idea was shelved for the time being.

* From Neville Crichton: Once again Scuttlebutt has repeated the statement that Volvo Open 70 is "the fastest world's fastest monohull racing yacht" in your report on the new end point for the Volvo Ocean Race.

I am afraid that this statement is simply not true.

'Alfa Romeo' has on several occasions raced against 'ABN Amro', the Volvo Open 70 generally agreed to be the fastest of the Volvos, and on every occasion has 'Alfa Romeo' not only beaten 'ABN Amro', the victory has been comprehensive, with 'Alfa Romeo' heading 'ABN Amro' by hours, not minutes.

On race tracks, one-make championships, which effectively the Volvo Ocean Race is, are the preserve of cars that are not competitive in events open to all cars. Far be from me to suggest that the same is true for the Volvo Open 70s, but just because a Volvo Open 70 wins a race in which only Volvo Open 70s may compete, does not make it the fastest yacht in the world!

FEATURED BROKERAGE
ZANA (also known as KONICA MINOLTA), the Brett Bakewell-White designed 98' Supermaxi is for sale by tender. Closing date is the 12th of October. She was designed to be a no compromise record breaker, with an eye towards being converted to a canting keel yacht; she has all the potential that is needed to be a future record breaker, and available now!

Please contact Berthon International Yacht Brokers for tender instructions and more details. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or +44 1590 679222

THE LAST WORD
Vote for the man who promises least. He'll be the least disappointing. -- Bernard Baruch

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.

www.YachtsandCruisers.com the new place to buy and sell prestige boats, the website has been designed to showcase high-end boats. People looking to buy prestige boats will be able to easily navigate their way around the site quickly. The portfolio of thousands of boats can be viewed by category, make, location and price. Alternatively the 'Advanced Search' facility will benefit those buyers who have a specific boat in mind.

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