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RECORD TIME FOR JOYON AT CAPE OF GOOD HOPE
Francis Joyon passed the Cape of Good Hope on Saturday and since then has IDEC has continued to fly and is threatening the solo 24 hour distance record.

IDEC passed the longitude of the Cape of Good Hope at 17:21 on Saturday, the first of the three great Capes he will pass on his voyage (the others being Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn). Francis Joyon reached the Cape 15 days, 7 hours and 16 minutes after departing from Brest on his solo round the world record in attempt - 4 days, 2 hours and 30 minutes faster than the current record holder Ellen MacArthur (GBR) (she took 19 days, 9 hours, 46 minutes). The Cape of Good Hope is 6,200 miles on a direct theoretical route from Brest, but Joyon's course had actually taken him over 7,400 miles - giving him an average speed of 20.12 knots for the first 15 days of his circumnavigation.

Not only is Joyon's time over four days faster than the current record, it is also quicker the crewed records set in 2002 and 2003 by the giant multihulls Geronimo and Orange. The only boat to have reached the Cape faster is the current holder of the Jules Verne Trophy, Orange 2, skippered by Bruno Peyron (FRA), who recorded a time of 14 days, 05 hours, 21 minutes in 2005.

Since passing the Cape of Good Hope, IDEC has continued at across the Indian Ocean at a blistering pace, posting a 24 hour run of 595.6nm at the 07:56 UTC poll his morning. The latest polling at 10:58 UTC put his 24 run at 594.7nm and current speed at 25.3 knots. With a favourable weather conditions set to continue for the next couple of days, Joyon looks set to have a genuine chance to better the current solo 24 hour distance record held by Brossard at 610.45nm, an average speed of 25.76 knots.

Although weary of the dangers of the Southern Ocean, as demonstrated by the weekend's action in the Barcelona World Race, and "extremely pleased" with the first part of his voyage, Joyon is still looking to maximize his current advantage (at the moment he's 1,703 nm ahead of the record pace).

www.trimaran-idec.com
Translation by the ISAF, sailing.org

OPEN LETTER ON OLYMPIC SELECTIONS
Past ISAF President Paul Henderson writes to current President Goran Petersson:

I am in receipt of the letter sent by the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) with regard to the process and results in the selection of the Events for the 2012 Olympic Games. This selection always is controversial and political as it is with any organization which tries to accommodate over 125 MNA's in such a diverse sport as Sailing. The RYA uses IOC historical arguments to make their case to question the Council decision. I would like to clarify what happened as I remember them.

The IOC Program Commission (PC), led by Franco Carraro, was charged, as a sub-committee of the IOC Executive Committee, to make suggestions on the program of events for future Olympic Games. Their overall mandate was to keep the Olympic Program to 28 sports, 10,500 athletes, and 300 Events. They were also asked to evaluate the inclusion of new sports which would necessitate reducing events including the dropping of some sports in total.

The Program Commission tabled their report in August of 2002 with the following recommendations:

New Sports to be added:
Several sports were assessed for inclusion and discarded.
The three sports that were eventually put forward for consideration were:
Rugby 7's
Squash
Karate

Sports to be dropped:
Three sports were put on the bubble:
Baseball
Softball
Modern Pentathlon

Sports to be Reduced:
Many sports were asked to reduce their events and athletes:
Boxing
Canoe/Kayak
Equestrian
Wrestling
Athletics
Rowing
Swimming
Sailing

It should be noted that Sailing was in very fine company and it was never suggested that our sport be deleted from the Olympic Program. What was recommended by the PC to the IOC Executive was that Sailing be reduced from 11 to 10 Events and from 400 to 360 athletes. The PC also suggested that this "could" be achieved by deleting keelboats. It was not mandatory as their suggestions were for other sports but just an observation.

All the sports so designated reacted very strongly against any erosion. ISAF immediately responded especially with regard to keelboats. It was pointed out that the PC was wrong in their cost evaluation as the installations for the keelboats did not increase the cost of the Games as the installations required for keelboats were needed for the Paralympics Events. It also was pointed out that the IOC wanted the high-profile athletes to be able to compete and that our top sailors gravitated to the keelboats. The media likes to focus on well known names and I would suggest that the media likes heroes and are not overly interested in fibreglass and dacron.

The IOC Executive Board immediately responded and withdrew any suggestion of deleting keelboats and left the responsibility of the choice of events solely to ISAF. The IOC delayed any reductions to 2012 and a compromise was reached whereby Sailing would be reduced to 10 Events and 380 athletes so as to accommodate new sports.

The final chapter in this scenario happened in Singapore in 2005. The IOC voted on all 28 sports and to remain "Olympic" it was necessary to get 50 + 1 of the IOC Members to agree. The IOC, in their wisdom, deleted Baseball and Softball keeping Modern Pentathlon. They then voted to add two new sports and none were added. This has the result that only 26 Sports and less than 300 Events and 10,500 Athletes will be in London 2012. ISAF tried to get the IOC to delay the shrinking of Sailing but were held to the original decision even though the UK is the premier sailing nation today.

The next chapter will be addressed by the IOC's new policy on sport. The IOC will pick 25 core sports which will be confirmed on the program and then select 3 other sports to fill to 28. Sailing should be confirmed in the 25 and therefore dispelling the myth that we will be replaced. It should also be noted that although Sailing does not get high TV ratings it is one of the most viewed sports on the Internet.

Having been on the firing line for the selection of Olympic Events and Equipment for 7 Games over 30 years it is interesting to see that nothing has changed as controversy and self-interest continues to rule. One other observation is that I always found the Events Committee equally a political body as the Council. Being a political animal also I would like to continue my bias by saying I like Cats and Skiffs as they must be sailed as Kinetics are of minimal advantage. I also trust that ISAF will continue to have inclusive events that allow all sizes and genders to compete especially for the larger sailors.

I trust the above is informative and if there is any need for more clarification please ask.

NEW THREE-IN-ONE VHF / GPS / NAVTEX FROM NEXUS
Nexus Marine has just unveiled the perfect navigation solution for the small raceboat. The NX2500 DSC VHF radio is the latest in the Nexus family of fixed and handheld VHF radios, and incorporates state-of-the-art electronic circuitry to ensure maximum performance along with minimum interference and power consumption. Like its predecessor the S15, the NX2500 combines all the functionality of a DSC VHF radio with a GPS receiver capable of storing up to 50 waypoints and a dual frequency NAVTEX receiver, all easily viewed on an extra large display.

Check it out at LIBS 2008, or ask for it at your local chandlery. www.nexusmarine.se

VICTORY TO BLUE PEARL
Sint Maarten, Netherlands Antilles: Gerhard Ruether's Zefiro (GER) crossed the finish line in the Transatlantic Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup at 14:26 UTC today. Zefiro is the final maxi to have completed a journey which started on 26th November from Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary Islands with the final destination of St Maarten in the Netherlands Antilles. The Solaris 76 completed the crossing in 14 days, 1 hour, 21 minutes and five seconds and takes third place overall under IRC handicap.

Anders Johnson's Blue Pearl (GBR) is the overall winner in the first edition of this transatlantic race, which is for maxi yachts of 18 metres (70 feet) and above and is promoted by the International Maxi Association (IMA) and organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda with the support of the Real Club Nautico de Tenerife and the Sint Maarten Yacht Club. Johnson was accompanied by an almost exclusively Swedish crew, including skipper Klabbe Nylof who estimates having 25 to 30 Atlantic crossings to his name, including a record-breaking trimaran crossing from Cape Town to Rio de Janeiro.

Second place goes to Morten Bergesen's Nariida (NOR) with a predominantly Norwegian crew including her habitual race skipper and Volvo Ocean Race veteran Knut Frostad and Swedish navigator Roger Nilsen. Nariida, a Wally 105 and the oldest boat in the fleet (launched in 1994), will also receive the YCCS Line Honours Trophy and the IMA Challenge Trophy for the highest-placed International Maxi Association member.

Four of the seven competing maxis had finished by Friday afternoon UTC and were joined at 22.00 hours and 57 minutes by Will Apold's Valkyrie (CAN) and at 08:19 and 20 seconds UTC on Saturday morning by Bernd Kortum's Julie Marie (GER).

www.yccs.it

AMERICA'S CUP
* After Desafio Espanol and the new Ayre Challenge, a third Spanish syndicate is appearing.

While Vicente Rambla, the Deputy President of the Valencian Government, continues to state that Desafio unites all the sailing clubs of Spain, Real Club Maritim de Barcelona and Real Club Nautico de Madrid have joined their efforts to support Decision Challenge, a new challenger for the 33rd America's Cup.

"This initiative, stated through a protocol signed by all parties last month, provides Decision's registration for the America's Cup as officially representing Reial Club Maritim de Barcelona, although Real Club Nautico de Madrid's commitment and support will be permanent", said the new syndicate in a statement.

This agreement appears as a cooperation framework between both Clubs, "convinced that success shall only be reached though team work and social and sports unity".

"The present state of things with respect to the competition, with lots of uncertainties about its upcoming future, has created different issues for the Team that is, as well as the rest of Challengers, working on them intensively".

www.cupineurope.com/NewsEN/2007/Decision.htm citing Las Provincias: www.lasprovincias.es/valencia/

* It appears, according to various sources we deem reliable in Spain and abroad, that Manuel Chirivella (president of CNEV) and Jose Maria Martin Puertas (vice president of CNEV) were in New York last week in order to prepare the appeal to Justice Cahn's decision, regarding its validity to challenge Alinghi.

It is expected that Justice Cahn will issue this week his final order on the case, most probably setting the dates of the match between BMW Oracle and Alinghi. If he resets the 10-month period then one should expect to see a catamaran race sometime in the first half of October 2008.

That is of course, if the two parties do not reach a different deal before that date or the appeal is finally not filed. According to the reports we received, all the legal paperwork for the appeal has been completed and CNEV's lawyers are on standby. It also appears there is very strong political pressure in Spain, to the highest level, not to proceed with the appeal, since there is nothing to gain from that, especially for the city of Valencia and the country as a whole. -- Pierre Orphanidisl, valenciasailing.blogspot.com

* Isabelle Musy interviewed Ernesto Bertarelli after his Open Letter was published this weekend. A few excerpts from her article in Switzerland's Le Temps:

Le Temps: You want to revolutionize the America's Cup.

Ernesto Bertarelli: There was a moment when I began to reflect on the future of the event. I began when Team New Zealand brought up reintroducing the nationality rule. I said to myself that that represented an enormous step backwards and that the principle which allows the Defender to change the rules works against the longterm development of the event.

The 32nd America's Cup was a success. We created something fantastic and I thought that that constituted an asset for the next one if we win again. But the recent events showed that when it is gained, nothing is acquired and that one must sometimes start out again at zero. The "Deed of Gift", which goes back to 1851, does not guarantee a durable future for the Cup. It is for that that I put questions for its revision, like questioning of the principle of the automatic qualification of the Defender.

I expect violent reactions on behalf of the many conservatives who call me insane and arrogant. These reforms will not be done in two days. They will perhaps never be done. It is for that which we will put ourselves at 200 percent on the multihull in order to accept the challenge of the Golden Gate Yacht Club until another alternative arises. For the moment, Alinghi does not have another choice.

Le Temps: Why?

Ernesto Bertarelli: We had the choice between appealing, which would do nothing but delay, accept this challenge in the multihulls or retrogress to negotiate with Oracle something on which we have not managed to put agreement to in four months. I cannot accept unfavourable conditions at this point.

Le Temps: You thus prepare with a duel in the multihulls in 2008?

Ernesto Bertarelli: With Larry, we will clash with two beautiful monsters. He who spends the most money will win. We have still not engaged any multihull specialist designer. Up to now, my "designers" worked on the new proposed boat, the AC 90.

www.letemps.ch/template/sport.asp?page=11&article=221233
(Rough) translation by your humble narrator. With a thanks for the link headsup to Peter Montgomery.

10M SALES OF GRAND HARBOUR MARINE SUPERYACHT BERTHS
Grand Harbour Marina have announced that they have concluded the sale of three berths for long term use for approximately 10m Euros. These are for 75 metre superyachts which will be based at Grand Harbour Marina, Malta.

GHM has now licensed 10 superyacht berths on a long term basis and has a further 23 superyacht berths which it presently intends to release for long term licensing in phases over the coming years. At the time of GHM's IPO earlier this year approximately 4.2m Euros of berth licensing sales were anticipated in 2007 - this target has therefore been exceeded by more than 5m. GHM also has 197 berths for yachts of up to 25 metres and these are currently 95 percent let.

Camper & Nicholsons Marina Investments Ltd, is an AIM-listed Guernsey-based specialist marina investment company.

www.cnmarinas.com

FINISH IN ORDER TO QUALIFY
The breakage of the keel actuator rod, suffered by Safran on Saturday, is now preventing Marc Guillemot from battling for victory. However, the main objective of this Transat Ecover B to B remains: to complete the race in order to obtain the very precious qualification for the Vendee Globe 2008.

"The main aim is to finish this race in order to qualify for the Vendee Globe" said Marc Guillemot prior to the start of this Transat Ecover B to B which saw him at the head of the fleet until Saturday 8th December, when the keel actuator rod gave up the ghost. Though he's clearly disappointed not to be able to defend his chances at 100 % and to do battle against Loick Peyron - with whom he contested the leadership until Friday - the skipper of Safran must go back to basics: finish this race at all costs, even under reduced sail area, handicapping his boat "by around 30% of its potential" he estimates.

Thanks to the emergency system, Marc has managed to lock the keel vertically with the help of a false actuator rod, which will enable him to continue his course on towards Port-la-Foret.

* First arrivals in sight... With a S'ly wind - downwind therefore - expected to kick in from this afternoon, the pace should pick up towards Port-la-Foret, where the frontrunners may well be expected from Thursday evening. The focus then will be on not losing too much ground since the leading group will benefit from steady, favourable wind. Unfortunately, a forecast wind shift may well force the rest of the fleet to finish off the race upwind, thus creating massive deficits in relation to the winner. Will Safran be able to stay in the same system as the three or four leading boats? This is the big question, even though Marc Guillemot's boat should logically suffer from its keel being locked in the axis of the downwind conditions as opposed to those upwind. There are still a few days of sea and adventure remaining before the qualification is in the bag! -- Translation by Kate Jennings

www.transatbtob.com

WORLD CHAMPION WILLIAMS BOOKS BERTH AT WINTER CHALLENGE FINAL
Fresh from taking the World Match Racing title, Ian Williams (GBR) underlined his recent success by winning the Grade 2 RYA Winter Match Race Challenge Series at Queen Mary Sailing Club, Staines, this weekend (7-9 December).

The wind reached 30 knots during the round robin and the high calibre international field had to reef the boats for the second day of racing.

On the final day of racing, the fifth-sixth place sail-off, the semi-finals and finals were sailed in shifty windy conditions. The semis were a first to three points format in which Williams beat Campbell-James 3:1 and Presti beat Monnin 3:1.

The finals were the first to two points. In the first match the Frenchman Presti was early at the start - a valiant recovery saw him nearly catch up but Williams took the first point. In the second match Presti was again early and Williams took an easy win to secure his place in the Grand Final (7-9 March 2008).

RYA Winter Challenge Match Racing Series 2 Results:
1. Ian Willliams (GBR), Gerry Mitchell, Simon Shaw, Mark Nicholls
2. Philippe Presti (FRA), Gilles Andre, Julien Falxa, Erwan Israel
3. Mark Campbell-James (GBR), Dave Mason, Andrew Yates, Rob Gullan
4. Eric Monnin (SUI), Marc Monnin, Simon Brugger, Jean-Claude Monnin, Loris van Siebenthal
5. Peter Wibroe (DEN), Jeppe Rasmussen, Phillip Gule, Jonas Huiid-Nielsen
6. Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA), Plauchet, Le Bihan, Renault
7. Ali Hall (GBR), Annie Lush, Tudor Owen, Gaz Owen
8. Christian Hamilton (GBR), Charlie Somerset, Dave Cheshire, Kirsty Law, Lauren Martel
9. Andy Green (GBR), Jonathan Taylor, Will Howden, Nat Ives
10. Chris Van Tol (USA). John Van Tol, Mike Hoey, Don Wilson

www.rya.org.uk

BOOK EARLY TO AVOID SHIPPING DISAPPOINTMENT
Peters & May report that bookings on their ships leaving the Caribbean are already flowing into their UK headquarters. With a busy season expected in Caribbean waters this coming Spring, increased by competitors from the ARC and yachts arriving for Antigua Regattas, heavy demand for yacht shipping back to Southampton and Palma is expected.

Peters & May currently have one ship departing from Tortola to Southampton in May and two from Tortola to Palma, one in April with another to follow in May. For more details on these routes contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

www.petersandmay.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 Simon Turner: With all the furore caused by Alinghi it seems to me the Americas Cup is ruined. It can no longer be considered a gentlemans' sport. He wants to change it all for the benefit of himself and his team. I cannot understand why any of the other teams can be bothered to enter. I for one will not be watching next time round.

* From Heike Blok: Let me complement Bob Fisher on his beautifully written, open letter on the AC hiccups delivering some sorely needed breathing air, separating sense from non-sense!

FEATURED BROKERAGE
Contessa 32, 26,395 GBP, Lying Chichester Harbour, UK

Ideal for fast cruising or racing, whose formidable reputation for seaworthiness has been tried and tested by some of the most rugged of long-distance sailors. This boat competed at a club level in the 1993 Fastnet race. This is a fair example of the model with the concentration being on Sailing, as such some work is required to tidy the interior and bring her up to date. 1 previous owner, little if any use in the past 3 years.

Brokerage through YachtsAndCruisers.com: www.yachtsandcruisers.com

Complete listing details and seller contact information at
www.yachtsandcruisers.com/boat/Contessa/19665/

THE LAST WORD
The purpose of anthropology is to make the world safe for human differences. -- Ruth Benedict

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 Artemis 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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