KEEL BOATS
A few crew places are available on Scarlet Runner for the 1885 nautical mile 2010 Melbourne to Vanuatu race, starting on July 4. Scarlet Runner is the Rachel Pugh Composites Construction 52, which hit the water around seven months ago, and has already been up and down the East Coast. There is a catch. You have to have relevant experience and donate AU$1000 to the North Vila School. Donations go towards educational materials and medical supplies that are shipped over in a container by APC Logistics. See ORCV.org.au for more info.
Dick Cawse and his Lyons/Cawse 60, Vanguard, provisionally wrapped up the 2009/2010 Ocean Pointscore series after taking line and handicap honours in the 63 nautical mile Sydney Newcastle race, organised by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia.
Despite being completely caught off-guard by a weather report that was a bit wide of the mark, Stephen Ainsworth’s Loki, with Gordon Maguire at its helm, won the line and handicap double in the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s Flinders Islet race, missing the race record by just over one hour. CYCA.com.au.
The race from Melbourne to King Island, starting 6 March on the Labour Day Weekend, marks the return to offshore racing in Victoria. The Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions will be posted on ORCV.org.au.
MATCH RACING
New Zealander William Tiller won the Warren Jones International Youth Regatta from former crew mate and defending champion Phil Robertson. The final, sailed on the Swan River’s Freshwater Bay, went to the full five races, with a protest holding up the result even when both boats had crossed the finishing line. WarrenJonesRegatta.org.au.
The World Match Racing Tour announces the Vietnam Match Cup which will take place in the picturesque east coast city of Nha Trang, Vietnam, this September. The event will be the eighth stage of the Tour this year, and is the first time that Vietnam has featured on the WMRT schedule. WorldMatchRacingTour.com.
AMERICA’S CUP
Two cutting edge giant multihulls are scheduled to race against each other for the first time on 8 February in Valencia, Spain, in the 33rd America’s Cup. With limited knowledge of each other’s craft and no actual racing experience to draw on, the Alinghi and BMW ORACLE afterguard members both admitted that they felt each craft will have their preferred conditions. The start, so much a crucial feature of match racing, will be entirely different. Steps have been agreed to minimise any immediate danger when the pair enter the arena. But from the first gun, it will be all new racing territory as the America’s Cup moves into another new chapter on the water.
Alinghi Team president Ernesto Bertarelli (SUI) said that helming the catamaran will be shared between himself and Loïck Peyron (FRA). BMW ORACLE team founder Larry Ellison (USA) said that he would be unlikely to be on USA in the first race while CEO Russell Coutts (NZL) quipped that he was waiting to hear from helm James Spithill (AUS) whether Coutts would be on board. Americas Cup.com.
AROUND THE WORLD
Jessica Watson has 1500 nautical miles to go to the Cape of Good Hope, but she will be passing well south and clear of land. From her blog – ‘Now that we've been through a few gales out here, handling 40 knots of wind has become pretty routine, just like the way tacking, gybing or reefing has almost become an automatic reflex too. But if anything, it's only made me more cautious than ever. Knowing that everything has been double-checked is the only way to get any peace of mind.’ JessicaWatson.com.au.
The 68-foot ocean racing yachts competing in the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race left Marina at Keppel Bay, Singapore, on 2 February for the Race 6 start line in the Singapore Straits. The 2,600-mile race will take them through extremes of weather with light winds and searing heat, followed by strong headwinds and counter currents producing an extremely choppy sea state, and freezing weather as they beat their way north towards the Olympic sailing city of Qingdao. The fleet is currently heading towards the scoring gate, off the southern tip of Taiwan. ClipperRoundTheWorld.com.
18 FOOTERS
Race 12 of the Australian 18 Footers League’s Club Championship was the final race for teams before the JJ Giltinan International Championship invitation race on Sydney Harbour on 12 February. The recently crowned Australian champion Gotta Love It 7 crew of Seve Jarvin, Sam Newton and Tom Clout showed that they are going to be the team to beat when they led for most of the race in a light south-east breeze to take victory by 49 seconds.
Five times Giltinan Championship winner Trevor Barnabas will make an unexpected attempt to add to his tally following a last minute call up to skipper Fisher & Paykel. Short a crew member, the boat's regular skipper Andrew Cuddihy took the unusual step of becoming a crewman and getting Barnabas to be the skipper. Check out 18footers.com.au for more details.
CRUISING
Ian and Andrea Treleaven are departing the Caribbean and heading back to the Mediterranean with a lesson learnt to expect the unexpected and trust no one. The Treleavens became friendly with a young couple and their child, and for quite a few weeks they crossed borders and island hopped together. Then one day in port the FBI were waiting to arrest their new friends.
The thing they won’t miss when they depart the Western Caribbean are the shallow reefs as their yacht’s keel is too deep. This area is the ideal multihull cruising ground. Their book, Letters from the Caribbean, is now with the printers and will be launched early June. Treleaven.com.au.
DISABLED SAILING
For the first time sailors with an intellectual disability can demonstrate their skill as they compete for gold at the Special Olympics 2010 Australia National Games. Over 900 athletes with an intellectual disability will travel to South Australia for a week of competition, social activities and general fellowship from April 19 – 24, 2010. SpecialOlympics.com.au.
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Feb 12 – 21 -- JJ Giltinan International Championship, Sydney Harbour, sometimes referred to as the 18 Footer Worlds. 18footers.com.
Feb 13-14 -- The Wooden Boat Rally will be held on the Tamar River at the Seaport Marina in Launceston, Tasmania. WoodenBoatRally.com.
Feb 16 - The next CYCA Medical Management for Mariners Course (MMM) starts in Sydney. Designed specifically for sailors by sailors, the course consists of seven three-hour nights at St. Vincent's Hospital in Sydney followed by a three hour practical session taught by Helicopter Rescue Paramedics on board a yacht at the CYCA. CYCA.com.au.
Feb 19 – 21 -- The Melbourne Wooden Boat Festival will be held at the Docklands precinct on Victoria Harbour. More details.
Feb 19 – 26 -- Geographe Bay Race Week held at in Busselton WA is expected to attract around 120 yachts in eight divisions. GBYC.com.au.
Feb 25 - 27 -- Variety Splash - Participants will travel a round trip from Docklands’ Melbourne Yacht Club Hotel, with nightly stopovers at Sandringham Yacht Club and Royal Geelong Yacht Club. VarietySplash.org.au.
Mar 6 - 7 -- The fourth Whyte, Just and Moore Lawyers Wooden Boat Festival of Geelong will be held at the Royal Geelong Yacht Club. RGYC.com.au.
Mar 6 – 7 -- Rosehill Trailerboat Show, Rosehill Racecourse, Sydney. BIA.org.au.
Mar 6 – 7 -- Audi Sydney Regatta, Middle Harbour Yacht Club MHYC.com.au.
Mar 9 – 21 -- Louis Vuitton Trophy series - Ten countries are expected to compete in event-supplied 85-foot long AC Class yachts from the last two America’s Cups. These yachts require a crew of 17 top sailors. LouisVuittonTrophy.com.
Mar 11 - 14 -- Auckland International Boat Show is being held in conjunction with The Louis Vuitton Trophy series to push up attendance at both events.
April 2 - 61st Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race starts. Queensland’s most famous blue water yachting event sets sail in the waters off Brisbane every year on Good Friday. More details.
April 2 – Hydro Tasmania Three Peaks Race starts at Beauty Point on the Tamar River just north of Launceston and finishes in Hobart on the River Derwent. Threepeaks.org.au.
April 12 – 18 -- Sail Port Stephens - Entries are open for all divisions, including the NSW IRC Championship, Commodores Cup (PHS), SB3 National Championship, Sports Boats and the Port Stephens Trophy which has a racing and cruising division. The feeder races for the event will be RPAYC’s Pittwater to Newcastle on 10 April and NCYC’s Newcastle to Port Stephens race on 11 April. More information.
Photograph: Below decks on Scarlet Runner courtesy of www.orcv.org.au