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TEAMORIGIN WINS TRAPANI CENTO CUP
Against a star-studded line-up of skippers from the last America's Cup, including the two Danish helmsmen Jes Gram Hansen and Jesper Raddich, the Australian James Spithill and the Italian Paolo Cian, TEAMORIGIN's Ben Ainslie, Iain Percy, Matt Cornwell and guest Gabriel Bruni competed in and won the 2007 Trapani Cento Cup. Trapani, on the extreme western tip of the Italian island of Sicily, was the site of Acts 8 & 9, a pair of build-up regattas for the last America's Cup sailed in full size America's Cup Class yachts in October 2005.

"This was our first international competition sailing together, our team worked well together and developed well as we went through the regatta. Sailing with Iain worked really well from a tactical point of view and this result is an important step forward for us" commented skipper Ben Ainslie.

"The conditions were pretty straight forward for the Round Robin series starting last Thursday, we sailed outside the harbour on open water. For the semis and finals at the weekend however we raced inside Trapani Harbour, which made it very shifty and really called for 'heads-out-of-the-boat sailing' to spot the wind," Ainslie continued.

"Our team seemed to work well together and we won our semi final against Jes Gram Hansen (DEN) and the finals against Paolo Cian (ITA) who had beaten James Spithill (AUS) in their semi final, both 2-0." -- Tim Kelly

Final results:
1. B. Ainslie, GBR, 9
2. P. Cian, ITA, 8
3. J. Spithill, AUS, 7
4. S. Minoprio, NZL, 6.5
5. J. Gram-Hansen, DEN, 6
6. J. Radich, DEN, 5.5
7. D. Iehl, FRA, 4
8. J. Orel, SLO, 3
9. E. Neugodnikov, RUS, 2
10. I. Ainslie, RSA, 2
11. S. Ferrarese, ITA, 1

www.teamorigin.com
Event site: www.trapanicentocup.com/ita/index.php

ALL PATHS LEAD TO CANARY ISLANDS
The north east flux (trade wind syndrome) is established for the ensemble of the fleet but with variations depending on the navigation zone. The players that chose the West option might enjoy a 20 knots trade wind and swell sea. On the contrary, the fleet that chose to go East or to stay in the direct route might suffer from great wind variations. The zones chosen by this section of the fleet is clearly more problematic: Venturi effect between islands, lower winds closer to the islands, heavy sea in the channels. They will have to be vigilant and reactive to manage the varied situations they might be confronted to.

At the moment, Laurent Bourgues on Adrenaline is leading the competition. He sails at almost 10 knots speed and glides between La Palma and La Gomera. 16th of the first leg, Laurent was first to choose to go between these two islands.

60 nautical miles more east, another group decided to glide between Tenerife and Gran Canaria. There is Yann Riou (Cameleon), followed by Adrien Hardy (Brossard) a few nautical miles away, Ronan Deshayes (Pco Technologies) and Peter Laureyssens (Ecover). Ronan already had few troubles due to the wind gusts between the islands. On Series side, we find potential leaders of the general ranking as Herve Piveteau (Jules - Imprimerie Cartoffset), Stephane le Diraison (Cultisol - Institut Curie) and Vincent Barnaud (Stgs.fr).

Therefore, the option to follow was clearly west. That is the one chosen and ruled with an iron hand by Yves Le Blevec (Actual) and Sam Manuard (Sitting Bull). In their wake, we find Sebastien Gladu (Clichy sous bois, Clichy sur l'eau), Fabien Despr es (Soitec), Clayton Burkhalter (Acadia) and Aloys Claquin (Vecteur Plus). Their speed fluctuates between 8 and 11 knots and this group shouldn't suffer any of the Spanish Archipelago's bad surprises.

News from the fleet

- Raoul Cospen (Dalet Digital Media Systems) has broken its halyard. He fixed it but has now troubles with its pilot. He doesn't know yet if he will quit, stop or not…

- Stephane le Diraison (Cultisol - Institut Curie) has a problem with its VHF. He doesn't know if he will be reachable until the end.

- S ebastien Marsset (Mar ee Haute) has broken a spinnaker brace but everything is fine on board now.

- Bertrand Delesne (Le Gal - Josset Menguy) had to go up the mast to change a halyard.

- Sophie Gu eroult (Felibre) has pilot troubles.

- Ronan Deshayes (Pco Technologies) has torn-down his medium spinnaker. He headed back to Gran Canaria to get it back. Thanks to St ephane le Diraison that relayed the information to an escort boat.

- Nacho Orti (Medi-Valencia) indicated a pilot problem and goes to Palma to fix it.

www.transat650.org

SPIDERTECH WORLD CHAMPIONS IN PORTO CERVO, ITALY
Matrix ArcaTxActive (ITA), owned by Luigi Melegari and Gianmarco Rinaldi enjoyed a solid win at the Mumm 30 Worlds 2007. The boat, equipped with Montefusco Sails, designed and built using Spidertech Technology has demonstrated a firm superiority against a fleet particularly rich in international sailing superstars. Tommaso Chieffi masterfully directed the non-professional owner to victory. The fleet of 40 boats reflects the continued high level of interest in this dynamic class. More news and comments at www.spidertechsails.biz/news/archives/2007/10/08/mumm-30-worlds/

SEAHORSE SAILOR OF THE MONTH
Last month's winner:
Chris Steele (NZL)
It has to be acknowledged that Alberto Roemmers must have some of the most gracious supporters anywhere in sailing - thank you all for your generous and elegant words of support. However in the end the young man who, remarkably, is New Zealand's first Optimist World Champion edged out Argentina's finest by 57% to 43%.

This month's nominees:

Geoff Holt (GBR)
'At 0430 in the morning it's horrible, and I'm only a few inches above the water...' It took the quadriplegic skipper a total of 109 days to complete his 1,400nm solo voyage around Great Britain on his 15ft trimaran, 53 of them at sea, often for 10 hours at a time - the most that Holt's body's thermal management system can handle. 'Remarkable' doesn't come close

Michel Desjoyeaux (FRA)
Well, since the previous edition of Seahorse 'Mich Desj' has won his third Figaro Solitaire , seeing off a tough gang of well-prepared young pretenders, and his fourth Trophee Clairefontaine title, sailed in one design winged cats in La Trinite. Winner of the 2000 Vendee Globe and the subsequent Transat, on his Orma 60 trimaran, no surprise that in our book Desjoyeaux will start the next Vendee in 2008 as favourite.

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

Cast your vote at www.seahorsemagazine.com

JULIUS BAER 2007 LACUSTRE SWISS CHAMPIONSHIPS
On Saturday October 6., 44 Lacustre one design class yachts from 5 different lakes completed their 2007 Swiss Championships. The Zurchersee Yacht Club hosted the event, that was sponsored by private bank Julius Baer, Davidoff and IWC watches.

Ten years after his first title, Lake Constance class chairman Erich Buck won his second, after being runner up in the previous two events. It was also the second title for his crew Helmer Schweizer (first in 1987). For Andreas Swiezy it was his first gold medal.

Their 2-(5)-1-2-1 series put them well ahead of second placed Rainer Fröhlich from Lake Zurich, followed by Martin Zobl, also from Zurich and Gunter Reisacher (3 times champion) from Constance. Among the helmsmen and crews were several former World, European and Swiss Champions, even an America's Cup winner (Enrico de Maria).

The Lacustre is the most successful design of Geneva's naval architect Henri Copponex, who's 100th birthday was celebrated this September. First launched in 1938, more than 250 of these classical yachts have since been build. Today the hulls are made in molded wood, fiber glass or even in composite materials. Almost all have superb teak decks and glossy varnish wooden cabins. Tight class rules result in strong hulls and make it possible for even older boats to be competitive. During all the years, new technology has been introduced in the sails, deckware and rigging, making these classical yachts fun to race. -- Helmer Schweizer

Results etc.
www.lacustre.ch
www.lacustre.ch/lacustre_d.php?lake=2

TANGUY DE LAMOTTE AND NICK BUBB QUALIFY FOR THE TRANSAT JACQUES VABRE
Tanguy de Lamotte and Nick Bubb have completed their 1000 mile qualification passage for the Transat Jacques Vabre (TJV) aboard their Class 40 Novedia/Set Environnement and have signed up GILL as their technical clothing partner.

Update from Nick:

Our route, as approved by Sylvie Viant from UNCL who govern all such things over in France for the various event organisers, was one we'd both sailed many times before. From La Rochelle we were heading south west towards Cape Finisterre on the north western Spanish coast. After just over 200 miles we would turn north towards the inhospitable island of Ushant just off the north western corner of France. Here we would have a choice of either heading to the Fastnet rock, or going east to the Needles, before heading back to Ushant and then down to Lorient in southern Brittany to finish.

The first part of the trip was very easy; a solid 10 - 15 knot easterly gave us beautiful downwind conditions under a full moon and we took the opportunity to test all of our 'flying sails'. As we made the turn north, the wind stayed in the east and we had a fast two sail reach all the way to Ushant. Here we decided that the Needles were a much more appealing option than the Fastnet and with the wind veering to the south east and building, we knew that we were looking at more fast two sail reaching both ways. By the time we got the Needles, the wind was gusting 30 knots and we were down to two reefs in the mainsail and a reefed solent. A good test all round and still fast! We encountered similar weather on the return to Ushant and got lucky with the spring tides to round the island and our 800 mile mark in just over 3 days. We then had some slightly trickier light headwinds to negotiate before we could celebrate. This proved very useful training though and we shook out our genoa and code 5 for the first time. We finally arrived at the famous old submarine base marina in Lorient at 1800 on Tuesday evening, perfect timing for a small 'fiesta' and rightly so; 1000 miles in just over 4 days and no major problems.

Finally, Tanguy and I are very excited to announce that GILL have agreed to become our technical clothing partner. For me this a development of a long standing working relationship and it's great to be working with old friends again.

www.jacques-vabre.com

* Photos of their new Class 40 at www.scuttlebutteurope.com/component/option,com_wrapper/Itemid,30/ in the new Transat Jacques Vabre gallery

GIPSY MOTH IV: STAR OF THE WHYTE & MACKAY EARLS COURT BOAT SHOW
The all-new Whyte & Mackay Earls Court Boat Show isn't just about exciting shows and Christmas shopping, it's shining with stars from sailing past, present and future. See Sir Francis Chichester's world-famous Gipsy Moth IV; watch Dee Caffari live by satellite in her first Transatlantic race; Michael Perham - the Transat Kid - auctions Cheeky Monkey; Gigi, the Cape Horn-rounding Contessa 32 takes a newly restored bow. There's the National Maritime Museum's Hall of Fame, the Steve Curtis Power Boat Display, good food, Guinness and much, much more. The all-new Whyte & Mackay Earls Court Boat Show: you can't beat boating in the heart of London!

www.earlscourtboatshow.com

29ER EUROCUP
Riva, Lake Garda: Six British boats made the long trek down to Lake Garda for the final 29er Eurocup event of the year at Fraglia Vela Riva on Lake Garda in Italy.

After a misty start to the first day, the cloud eventually lifted from the lake allowing the 40 boats to start racing on time. The Wind was moderate from the North, with some strong gusts at times. At the end of day 1, Bleddyn Mon & Tom Humphries from Red Wharf Bay Sailing Club were lying 1st, counting 2 x1st, and James Peters & Ed Fitzgerald from Hayling Island were in 2nd counting 2 x 2nd.

Day 2 of the Eurocup saw the morning northerly breeze drop and veer right to the South. One race was started and abandoned, and after a wait on the water, the 2nd start was successful and one race completed in classic 14-15 knots. A 3rd race was attempted, but the wind dropped away to nothing.

Day 3 saw frustration for the sailors as heavy rain and no wind prevented play, and the highlight of the day was watching Pearl Harbour at the yacht club.

The final day, however, saw a return to classic Garda conditions, with sunshine and the Southerly breeze filling in allowing 4 races to be sailed back to back. Solid performances by all the British youth teams resulted in all 6 teams finishing in the top 10 overall. The event was won by James Peters and Ed Fitzgerald, Croations Tomislav Basic and Leon Ostrez were 2nd, and Bleddyn Mon and Tom Humphries finished 3rd. Max Richardson and Alex Groves from Hastings were 5th, Mike Wood and Ollie Spensley-Corfield from Draycote 6th, Frances Peters and Claire Lasko from HISC 7th and Becky Diamond and Fiona Hampshire from HISC, 10th.

For full results see www.29er.org.uk/newdocs/uploaded/2007_Eurocup_ITA_Results.htm

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

CREWSAVER ISSUES LIFEJACKET SAFETY WARNING
PRODUCT RECALL: Crewsaver's lifejacket servicing department says there is a problem with the United Moulders' Mk3 Standard Automatic Head fitted to Crewfit and Survivor inflatable lifejackets.
The out of date and unusable United Moulders Mk3 Standard Automatic Heads

Tests indicate that this component, which was fitted to Crewfit and Survivor lifejackets manufactured before 1997, is now at the end of its safe and usable life and should be replaced.

Crewsaver insists it's essential that the head replacement be undertaken by the company. 'On no account should you attempt to replace this yourself,' said Crewsaver.

The company strongly recommends that owners of Crewfit or Survivor lifejackets with an Mk3 Standard Automatic Head fitted should contact Crewsaver on + 44 (0)2392 528621 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it to discuss the replacement process.

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 Lojze Babic: I would like to ask you for the help. It should be interesting for me and probably for the readers to find the oldest sailor in the world.

We have an active sailor here in Slovenia who should be considered as one of the oldest sailors today. His name is Mirko Bogic. He is a real legend in our country. I think he is unique in the world in the terms of the years. Namely, he is a 91 years old but he is still sailing with his 6 m long sailing boat named by the wind Maestral. Not only that, he visits the place where he was born - a town named Sibenik in Croatia each year and stays there for about two months living on his boat. After that, he sails back to Piran in Slovenia. The distance between Piran and Sibenik and back is approximately 360 Nm (!). Besides that he takes part as a skipper on many regattas here in Slovenia and he is quite successful.

Could ask the readers if they know somebody who is older than he is and is still the active sailor? Thank you in advance.

Best regards on behalf of the members of the sailing club JK Ljubljana in Slovenia

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THE LAST WORD
Such as are your habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of your mind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts. -- Marcus Aurelius

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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