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PAPREC-VIRBAC 2 RUNNING AWAY FROM HUGO BOSS
There are a few tough days ahead for Hugo Boss as the race leader, Paprec-Virbac 2 has hooked into a nice Southern Ocean low and is running away, while Hugo Boss is stuck in very mild conditions - in every sense of the word. Describing their current situation, the words of Jean-Pierre Dick on Paprec-Virbac 2 and Alex Thomson on Hugo Boss couldn't have been more different.

"There is a lot of rain and gusty winds, up to 35 knots. It's very difficult to sail the boat," Jean-Pierre said. "It's very, very cold here, so just checking the sails and adjusting the sheets is torture. It's terrible really."

The consolation is a boat speed approaching 20 knots. Meanwhile, Hugo Boss is in the same 'Furious Fifties', but struggling to make 5 knots on a sunny, warm, windless day.

"Our situation hasn't really changed for the past few days. We're still catching up to this ridge of high pressure and sailing along with the ridge," Alex Thomson said on the video conference today. He then switched the camera to an outside view, showing a beautiful, sunny, blue sky, the sea calm and nearly flat. It certainly looked like anything but the Southern Ocean.

Behind them, the rest of the fleet has picked up the pace as well. Temenos II is trying to fend off the advance of Mutua Madrilema, who has picked up 75 miles over the last 24 hours. Javier Sanso and Pachi Rivero are now just over 100 miles behind Temenos II.

And Educacion sin Fronteras is up to speed today again, after passing through Cook Strait yesterday and leaving New Zealand behind. Albert Bargues is happy to begin the second half of the race without having stopped, and is looking forward to Cape Horn, over 4000 miles in the distance.

Day 58- January 7, 14:00 GMT - Position report with distance to leader

1. Paprec-Virbac 2 - Jean Pierre Dick / Damian Foxall - 0
2. Hugo Boss - Alex Thomson / Andrew Cape - 863
3. Temenos Ii - Dominique Wavre / Michele Paret- 2837
4. Mutua Madrilena - Javier Sanso / Pachi Rivero - 2944
5. Educacion Sin Fronteras ! - Servane Escoffier / Albert Bargues - 3311

www.barcelonaworldrace.org

BIG SHIFTS SHAKE UP FLEET AT 49ER WORLDS
Big shifts and fluky winds at the Sorrento Couta Sailing Club hosted 49er World Championship shook the gold fleet up on the first day of the Final series at Sail Melbourne today as Athens Gold medallists and 2006 world champions Iker Martinez/Xabier Fernandez from Spain took the lead of the series.

The Spanish sailed superbly in some of the trickiest conditions any have ever seen, scoring a ninth, win and a second place in the first three races of Gold fleet Final. Silver medallists from Athens, Luka Rodion/George Leonchuk are second placed after a similar day, whilst Australia's Nathan Outteridge/Ben Austin are third; winning the first race, but dropping down to 13th and 16th in the latter two races.

Starting this morning, the 81-boat fleet was split into Gold, Silver and Bronze groups, the top 25 competitors racing in the nine-race Final series for the Championship title, so all were on their toes. While some are purely concentrating on winning the world title, for others it's the important job of qualifying their nation or themselves for the 2008 Beijing Games.

It was a frustrating day for all, as the land breeze fought the sea breeze, the competitors fought both, and few won.

The Sail Melbourne ISAF Grade 1 event continues tomorrow. -- Di Pearson

Top ten, Gold Fleet:

1. Iker Martinez / Xabier Fernandez, ESP, 40
2. Rodion Luka / George Leonchuk, UKR, 44
3. Nathan Outteridge / Ben Austin, AUS, 46
4. Jan Peter Peckolt / Hannes Peckolt, GER, 46
5. Tim Wadlow / Chris Rast, USA, 55
6. Stevie Morrison / Ben Rhodes, GBR, 56
7. Piero Sibello / Gianfranco Sibello, ITA, 57
8. Jorge Lima / Francisco Andrade, POR, 64
9. Nico Luca Marc Delle Karth / Nikolaus Leopold Resch, AUT, 69
10. Alonso Federico / Alonso Arturo, ESP, 75

www.sailmelbourne.com.au

DUTCH MASTER TRICKY CONDITIONS TO TAKE LEAD AT 29ER WORLDS
The 29er World Championship took a turn today as the 102-strong international fleet was divided into Gold, Silver, Bronze and Emerald groups for the Final series and a new overall leader emerged.

The eventual winner will be decided from the top 25 sailing in the Gold group. Annemiek Bekkering/Jeske Kisters from The Netherlands took the lead of the Championship today after four races.

The Dutch pair showed superb skill on the hugely shifty and fluky course to come into their own to day with 2-1-11-2 results in Races 1 to 4. Their six point lead over nearest rivals, James Peters/Ed Fitzgerald (GBR) is well deserved.

The British boys 12-4-5-10 results reflect the conditions on the course, where breezes ranged anywhere from 3-12 knots, with many holes on the course, it was a case of paying attention and experience.

Steven Thomas/Jasper Warren (AUS) who have twice been at the top of the leaderboard now, dropped to third place today following 16-12-4-3 results. They are one point behind the British duo.

Racing continues at the Sail Melbourne event tomorrow. -- Di Pearson

Top Ten Gold Fleet:

1. Annemiek Bekkering / Jeske Kisters, NED, 29
2. James Peters / Ed Fitzgerald, GBR, 35
3. Steven Thomas / Jasper Warren, AUS, 36
4. Alexandra Maloney / Blair Tuke, NZL, 42
5. Katrine Ditmara Andersen / Rie Luxhoi, DEN, 42
6. Henrik Rask Sogaard / Soren Wiegand Kristensen, DEN, 43
7. Byron White / Williams RYan, AUS, 43
8. Gleddyn Mon / Tom Huymphreys, GBR, 49
9. Max Richardson / Alex Groves, GBR, 53
10. Joel Rose / Jamie Woods, AUS, 54

www.sailmelbourne.com.au

FUTURE FIBRES IS GROWING!
Industry leader Future Fibres is currently experiencing rapid and sustained growth in the composite rigging market. As a result, it is looking to fill a number of positions throughout the business. It requires a superyacht salesperson to service this rapidly expanding sector and maintain Future Fibres' current market leading position. Its service department is also looking to recruit a service manager and service administrator to help develop a global service infrastructure to support the growing customer base. For full details on these and all other vacancies visit www.futurefibres.com

THE QUIET VOLVO OCEAN RACE SYNDICATE
Of all the seven confirmed entries, the Alicante camp has been the most guarded with finer details about their campaign.

This has led to speculation among the sailing fraternity and spawned a number of Spanish media theories. Initial rumours of an all-female entry have given way to the prospect of a Spanish 'youth' boat styled on the ABN AMRO TWO entry in the previous race.

One thing is for certain, there will be two boats and Bouwe Bekking, the skipper of the 2005-06 Spanish campaign backed by telecommunications giant telefonica movistar, will be at the helm again.

Armed with an exclusive deal with Farr Yacht Design (FYD), the Spanish campaign is well advanced. Construction is under way on the first boat which is due to be launched in the spring of 2008.

And mindful of the need for thorough preparation, the Alicante-backed syndicate have the former Brasil 1 at their disposal for training in the waters off the Spanish coast.

Together with FYD, the Spanish have designed modifications on Brasil 1. Sails, appendages, hull shapes and canting systems are all part of the full-scale testing programme.

With the responsibility of carrying Spanish expectations, King Juan Carlos et al, nothing is being left to chance.

Having toyed with the idea of mounting his own campaign, Bekking will link up once again with syndicate head Pedro Campos.

The Dutchman has long since banished memories of the ill-fated 2005-06 campaign which ended with the abandonment and eventual sinking of movistar in the Atlantic.

Bekking freely admits that the structural problems which beset movistar were a result of the team's desire to err on the side of weight reduction. The first breakdown occurred within 48 hours of the start in the home port of Galicia.

Subsequent failures of the hydraulic ram mechanisms and keel box meant that movistar spent as much time on his haunches as it did on the water.

www.volvooceanrace.org

COME AND VISIT NEXUS MARINE AT THE LONDON BOAT SHOW
At this year's London Boat Show leading marine instrumentation innovator Nexus Marine will be welcoming visitors at the Navimo UK stand (N049A), with expert staff on hand throughout the event to demonstrate its comprehensive range of racing instrumentation systems and discuss customers' requirements. Nexus will also be showcasing for the first time in the UK its new multi-function NX2500 DSC VHF radio with NAVTEX and GPS capability, the high precision, high performance HPC compass transducer and the all-new NX2600 NAVTEX antenna, and don't forget to take a look at the popular NX1000 and NX1500 handheld VHF radios. We look forward to seeing you.

www.nexusmarine.se

470 INTERNATIONALE INVESTS 30,000 EUROS IN ATHLETES' DREAMS
Milan, Italy: In the final phase of country qualification for the 2008 Olympic Games, taking place in Beijing this Summer, the International 470 Class Association supports National Authorities around the World and their talented two person dinghy sailors to take a last chance to reach the minimum requirements set by ISAF, in conjunction with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), to participate in the Olympic Sailing Regatta.

The support is defined in the Olympic Pathway Solidarity Grant (OPSG), launched by 470 Internationale in the end of 2006, aiming at the support of talented 470 sailors with sailing ambitions and abilities on Olympic levels who find financial or infrastructural obstacles on their way to Olympic Qualification.

The 470 World Championships that will take place from 21 to 30 January in Melbourne, Australia, will be the last event where sailors can qualify their country for the two person dinghy sailing sport discipline for both Men and Women at the Beijing Olympics.

With a budget of over 10.000 Euros for the 2008 edition of the OPSG, the 470 Class finances transport or charter fees for those crews who have not qualified their country and have been admitted to the 2008 edition of the OPSG Programme.

The first edition of the OPSG Programme in 2007, also with a budget of over 20.000 Euros, provided in six fully equipped charter boats from licensed builder Nautivela, to give the first six crews admitted to the programme a chance to qualify their country for the 2008 Olympics at the ISAF Sailing World Championships in Portugal last Summer. In addition to this equipment support and with the support of Dolphin Maritime based in The Netherlands, 470 Internationale provided in a training camp prior to this Championship and coaching during the event.

The OPSG is one of the programmes in the extensive package of Sailors Support Programmes of the International 470 Class Association. The budget of 30.000 Euros concerns core cost, and is excluding the work of management committee members who provide their services on a voluntary base.

www.470.org

TWO TALL SHIPS' RACE SERIES TO BE HELD IN 2008
Two Tall Ships' race series will be held during 2008 with over 100 Tall Ships anticipated to take part in the two events. Ports in the UK, Norway, the Netherlands, mainland Portugal and Madeira will play host to the events which provide an opportunity for total novices, as well as professional sailors, to sail as a crew member on the magnificent Tall Ships.

The annual Tall Ships' Races, which is organised by Sail Training International and supported by the City, Port and Province of Antwerp, will start in Liverpool this year, with the fleet spending four days in the European Capital of Culture (Friday 18 - Monday 21 July).

From Liverpool the ships will travel up to the north coast of Northern Ireland where the spectacular race start will take place on 23 July, five miles out from Lough Foyle. From there the crews will have their work cut out to sail the ships around the north of Scotland, with a choice of going east or west of the Outer Hebrides, then between the Orkney and Shetland Islands and across the North Sea to Maloy in Norway.

Maloy will also offer the opportunity for many ships to change crews ready for what promises to be a very special cruise-in-company around the fjords before arriving in the more southerly Norwegian town of Bergen, where they will stay for four days (9 - 12 August).

From Bergen the fleet will then compete in a second race, taking up to eight days, down to Den Helder in the Netherlands where a final four days of festivities will take place (20 - 23 August).

The second Tall Ship event being held in 2008 is the Funchal 500 Tall Ships Regatta, which begins in Falmouth on the south coast of the UK. The Tall Ships will gather for four days (10 - 13 September) when the trainee and professional crews will again have the chance to enjoy some local hospitality before racing down to Ílhavo in Portugal (20 - 23 September) and then race again to Funchal in Madeira (2-5 October) where the fleet will form part of year-long celebrations commemorating the 500th anniversary of Funchal's founding and maritime heritage.

Both events are open to trainee crew members with or without sailing experience and for able bodied as well as the disabled. One of the key rules for The Tall Ships' Races is that 50 percent of each ship's crew must be aged between 15 and 25 years, making this a truly young people's event.

Those interested in taking part should visit the event websites for further information on how to get on board.

www.tallshipsraces.com/funchal500
www.tallshipsraces.com

ROGERS YACHT DESIGN REQUIRES FULL TIME DESIGNER
An immediate vacancy has arisen for a full time Designer based at Rogers Yacht Design, Lymington, UK. The successful candidate must have at least 5 years experience in design offices and boat yards and be familiar with standard marine software packages and preferably with Catia.

Rogers Yacht Design projects include grand prix race boats, power and commercial projects, ultimately offering our design team varied briefs and exciting challenges.

To apply, please e.mail CV and any relevant references to Rebeca Rogers: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Website: www.rogersyachtdesign.com

SHORT TACKS
* British Classic Yacht Club And Big Yacht Class Regatta
Cowes Classic Week - 19 - 26 July 2008
For 2008 the BCYC launches the Big Yacht Class which will see the Classic Super Yachts of previous eras racing once again in the Solent. Early confirmation of entry has been received from Mariquita, Lulworth and Mariette.

In the 1920's Lulworth raced in the solent against Britannia, Westward, Shamrock IV and White Heather, and has not raced here since that time.

If you wish to take part in this Regatta, or require more information, please contact Hon. Sec. David Orton at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Commodore Tim Blackman at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

* The Dubai Gold Cup 2007 will be shown on Eurosport this Wednesday, January 9, at 23:50 CET.

* Viewers will be able to tune in to Channel 4 to see the Collins Stewart London Boat Show.

The programme, which will be aired on Sunday 13 January at 7.30am (with repeats), will feature some of the exhibiting companies, launches and attractions at the 2008 Show. -- www.londonboatshow.com

* Royal Bermuda YC adds extra Sunday session for ISAF Safety-at-Sea Certification

The schedule has now been finalized for the Safety-at-Sea seminars on February 2nd & 3rd at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club in Hamilton, Bermuda. One US SAILING Sanctioned SAS Seminar will be run on Saturday and two ISAF approved “hands-on” sessions will be run concurrently on Sunday.

Space is still available for both days. Sailors who attend the Saturday course will receive the US Sailing course certificate now required for many offshore events starting from the USA, including the Newport Bermuda Race that starts June 20th this year and the Marion Bermuda Race held in June 2009.

Attending both the Saturday and Sunday sessions gives a person the "Pass" Certificate for the 'ISAF Approved Offshore Personal Survival Course' required for many Cat 0,1,2 races. Skippers and crew of all vessels that venture offshore are invited.

Islanders may register quickly by downloading the form and returning the completed form and payment directly to the RBYC. Registration is also at www.ussailing.org/safety/Seminars/index_new.asp

* The Penzance Around Scilly And Back has been run for over twenty years and this year will be run between 25th and 28th July 2008 over three legs:

- Leg 1: Penzance to St Mary's, Isle of Scilly - 25th July
- Leg 2: Around the Islands - 27th July
- Leg 3: St Mary's, Isle of Scilly to Penzance - 28th July

We aim for the event to be a competitive yet fun event with a free day on the 26th July to explore the beautiful Isles of Scilly.

There are classes and prizes under PY, IRC and MOCRA as well as the ‘Petit Bateau’ trophy for the first double handed competitor. Both Monohulls and Multihulls welcome.

Further details, Notice of Race and entry forms are available from www.pzsc.org.uk/pasab or by email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

* UK-based construction company Dean and Dyball has won a contract to build the sailing facilities for the 2012 Olympic Games.

The company will upgrade facilities at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, Hampshire, in southern England.

The work will include a permanent 150m slipway, race-boat parking area, lifting facilities and moorings.

Work will begin in spring for completion before the end of the year making Weymouth and Portland one of the first venues to be ready for the Games. -- Ahsanul Islam, www.designbuild-network.com/news/news3587.html

* Ramsgate Week will this year run from 11-16 August and the organisers are again offering an early bird discount on both entries and harbour charges.

The closing date for the early bird offer is the end of May but the organisers are asking those planning to enter to do so as early as possible to help them with the planning for the Regatta.

The event web site has been updated and the Notice of Race, Sailing Instructions, and accommodation lists are all available for download at www.ramsgateweek.com

FEATURED BROKERAGE
GP 42 Roma, 500,000 EUR, Lying Rome, Italy

In August of 2005 the Offshore Racing Congress (ORC) introduced the GP42 Level Class. Farr Yacht Design played a key role in the development of the rule, providing comments and guidance from the preliminary proposal stage through to the issuance of interpretations to better define the rule after it was officially issued. Latini Marine immediately came to Farr Yacht Design to commission the first of this very promising and exciting class. Farr Yacht Design has had unparalleled success designing box rule boats and applied that knowledge and experience to the GP 42. Exceptional light wind performance will be a hallmark of these designs.

Brokerage through Farr Yacht Sales: www.farryachtsales.com

Complete listing details at www.farrdesign.com/brokerage/605_Roma.htm

THE LAST WORD
Men who do things without being told draw the most wages. -- Rodney Dangerfield

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