Fortfarande lätt i Seilmakaren
J/109 JJ Flash med bröderna Juriks sakta på väg mot mål. Har varit en lång och seg kryss i natt. Snart börjar båtarna gå i mål i Bergen.
J/109-seglare med flyt
Amundsen Omega 3 var en av de 109:or som var aktuella när jag skulle byta båt. Nu har nya ägarna bra fart i Seilmakeren doublehanded. Go J/boats!!
Leif Arild Åsheim og Hans Martin Veding fra Stavanger seiler shorthanded for første gang og har ikke så mye regattaerfaring. Likevel har de ledet store deler av Seilmakeren DH i AMUNDSEN OMEGA3.
PUMA Ocean Racing Sailing Team
Ikväll presenterade Ken Read sin besättning på Puma:
PUMA Ocean Racing Announce Crew for Entry into Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009
Skipper Ken Read Brings Together an International Team in Newport, RI
Team to Be Featured on PUMA Ocean Racing Website Set to Launch May 12 to Coincide with Christening of PUMA Racing Boat
Boston, Massachusetts, May 8, 2008 – Ken Read, skipper of PUMA Ocean Racing, officially announced his crew and management for the upcoming Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009, as the team gathered for official training in Newport, Rhode Island and prepared for the christening of its new boat on May 12 in Boston by actress Salma Hayek. Among the crew, PUMA Ocean Racing represents six countries and has 21 past Volvo Ocean Race participations to its credit.
The sailing team members are: Andrew Cape, Navigator; Rick Deppe, Media Specialist; Justin Ferris, Trimmer/Driver; Sidney Gavignet, Watch Captain; Jerry Kirby, Bowman; Jonathan McKee, Trimmer/Driver; Michael Mueller, Bowman/Trimmer; Chris Nicholson, Watch Captain; Rob Salthouse, Trimmer/Driver and Casey Smith, Bowman.
On the shore-team key management includes: Kimo Worthington, General Manager, and Neil Cox, Shore Team Manager.
Cumulatively, the management and sailing team for PUMA Ocean Racing shares a level of success difficult to match with five Volvo Ocean Race/Whitbread Race wins, 20 America’s Cup editions and five wins, along with four Olympic Games entries and two medals.
“A top program is only as good as the people that manage it and drive it, and we are extremely fortunate to have such a diverse group of the world’s best sailors signed on to help sail PUMA’s Volvo 70 around the world as fast as possible,” said Ken Read. “On the shore side, we have two first-class Volvo Ocean Race veterans managing the intricate logistics and support structure necessary for this race. All of these individuals combined with PUMA’s commitment to the race and the strength of the brand are powerful elements that shape this team and will hopefully lead it to victory.”
“Ken Read has assembled an impressive list of experienced and talented sailors, who will not only give PUMA Ocean Racing its best chance to win, but will represent PUMA and the sport of sailing in a special way as they travel 37,000 miles across the ocean,” said Jochen Zeitz, Chairman and CEO of PUMA AG.
The race will begin October 2008 in Alicante, Spain and will end in June 2009 in St. Petersburg. By joining the race, PUMA has entered a new premium category and is the first Sportslifestyle company to participate in a venture of this kind. PUMA Ocean Racing and the PUMA Sailing collection will be featured at www.PUMAOceanRacing.com starting next week with video profiles on PUMA sailors updated throughout the summer.
Audi MedCup | alla fakta
Det var ju sjukt tätt i förra årets MedCup. På måndag drar det igång igen i Alicante, och alla nya båtar börja komma ut på havet. Här är massa fakta om tävlingarna och båtarna för er som gillar att ha koll. Foto: Gilles Martin-Raget.
2008 Calendar
City of Alicante Trophy, 12th – 17th May
City of Marseille Trophy, June 2nd – 7th
Region of Sardinia Trophy, June 30th – July 5th
Breitling Regatta, July 21st – 26th
Region of Murcia Trophy, August 25th – 30th
Portugal Trophy – City of Portimão, September 15th – 20th
Foto: Thierry Martinez. MedCup Hyères 2007.
MedCup History
The world’s leading regatta circuit has three years of real history Keelboat racing in yachts of a certain size has been popular for many decades. But after years of sailing with a handicapping system that uses an elapsed time scoring system, a large number of owners wanted to be able to sail in real time, knowing who the winner of the race was as they crossed the finish line and not hours later when a whole series of complex calculations had been made. So the TP52 Class, a 52-foot (15.8 metres) long no-holds-barred level-rating racing monohull, which was originally developed in the United States, came to be sailed in the Mediterranean.
2005 saw the first event of the Breitling MedCup Circuit in Punta Ala off the Italian Tuscan coast. There were just seven yachts on the start line of this first event but the seed had been sown and later in the season the fleet grew in size to eleven boats and competed as a class at the Trofeo Reina in Valencia, followed by the Copa del Rey in Palma, Mallorca. The closing event of the inaugural season was held in Porto Rotondo in Sardinia, with Vasco Vascotto’s Pisco Sour crowned the first MedCup Champions.
2006 was to exceed all expectations with a total of 22 boats competing at the highest possible level. The fleet welcomed new designers and new owners to compete against the ‘old hands’ from the previous year. The Circuit increased the number of races and venues – first they went back to Punta Ala in Italy, then to Castellón in Spain followed by Portals and Palma in Mallorca, then Athens in Greece and finally to the closing event in Ibiza. Mutua Madrileña – Mean Machine and her owner and skipper, Peter de Ridder, were the overall winners, but they did not have an easy ride with boats like Warpath and Siemens, ensuring that there was a battle right to the final race.
2007 turned out to be stronger again for the MedCup, with a total of 24 boats competing and yet more new faces and boats appearing over the five-event circuit. The season started in Alicante in mid-June, then moving to Majorca for two events in July and August in Portals and Palma respectively, before heading to the Atlantic for the first time with a regatta hosted by Portimão in Portugal, before returning to the Mediterranean and closing the season in Hyères, France in early September. There were many winners in 2007 but the dominant Swedish Artemis, owned and steered by Torben Tornqvist with Russell Coutts on tactics, dominated and took the circuit prize.
2008 is set to be yet another historic year with eight new boats being built especially to compete during the six individual regattas that make up the Circuit. With Audi taking the title sponsorship, a points system change that requires every race to count the 2008 Audi MedCup Circuit will likely see the toughest competition ever for overall honours. The Audi MedCup Circuit is now, without question, the world’s leading regatta circuit.
Foto: Diego Yriarte. Stay Calm (GBR), Copa del Rey2007.
Live från dagens träning
Ja, tekniken verkar ju funka “good enough” för att köra statusrapporter från havet. Man orkar väl inte se (eller filma) ett helt race, men man borde kunna köra korta statusrapporter från shorthandedracen. Med lite bra kommentarer om vägval och konkurrenter. Kanske skall man i så fall försöka göra det på fasta tider?
Tekniskt är det en Nokia N95 med programvaran QIK, som streamar video över 3G.
Och hur gick själva träningspasset då? Första gången i år för många, och två killar är helt nya i båten. Trots allt helt OK.
Starterna gick kanon, vi tjuvade ju några gånger förra året och behöver jobba med timing till linjen, men i dagens lätta vind satt de perfekt.
Båtfart också helt OK. På kryssarna (3-4 m/s) så seglade vi nästan jämt med X-35 Manixen. Lite lägre, men kanske något snabbare. Vi har definitivt nytta av genua och de lider väl lite av fock i just det här registret. Vi var klart snabbare än Mumm 36 Aero, men de har segel som kanske inte ger 100% i den lätta vinden. Undanvindarna var också ok fartmässigt. Här gled dock X-35 iväg lite mer, men vi var snabbare än Mummen.
Manövrarna var sådär till att börja med. Slag & gippar bra, sättningar likaså, men timing och teamwork i nedtagningarna behöver nötas lite. Inte så konstigt kanske…
Sammanfattningsvis, en mycket bra kväll i Långedrag. Tack alla!
Jag håller på att testa live-sändning. Så här kan det dyka upp lite vad som helst från 17:30 och framåt (som ni kan bortse ifrån). Det står live i fönstret när det rullar. Annars visas senaste inslaget.
Vill man skoja till det lite så kan man faktiskt skriva in kommentarer och frågor i videofönstret under sändning, så dyker de upp hos mig när jag filmar…