Sunsail Olympic Specials
Are offering special Olympic discounts for all bookings taken between 27 July - 12 Aug - an extra 5% off, combinable with all other discounts. This means you could save an extra 5% off your next South East Asian holiday, which is already discounted by up to 30% for sailing between now and the 15 Dec 2012. Sunsail's three bases in Thailand - at Phuket (open year round), Koh Chang (open October to March) and Koh Samui (open March to October) - offers a huge range of different sailing experiences. Check out the discounts each month on high-performance cruising yachts built for comfort and designed especially for the great sailing in Asia! Visit Sunsail Asia and pick up a copy of the 2012 Yacht Charter Brochure and receive regular updates on Sunsail's activities in the Asian region contact Tel: +66 (0)76 239057 Email: sales@sunsailasia.com

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CONTENTS

1. EDITORIAL - Staying in touch with all the sailing action...
2. AUSTRAL - ASIAN NEWS - Singaporean white-wash OptiWorlds 2012 – RMN strike gold at Borneo Challenge - Rolly Tasker Memorial Trophy - 2013 Fremantle to Bali Race - Naked Ambition - Singapore victorious in Clipper Race - ETNZ first to launch AC72
Up next in Asia - Sail Indonesia - SMU-RM Western Circuit - Darwin to Ambon Race - Sail Maluku Rally
3. INTERNATIONAL NEWS - Puma wins the Battle - Groupama wins the war - The Bay Area becomes the Bay Arena
Follow the: Alpari World Match Racing Tour - RC44's - Extreme Sailing Series - AC World Series
4. World Speed records - New York to Brest in under 5 days - Truth smashes Solo TransPac Record - Alex Thomson & Hugo Boss new Transat Record
5. "Unluckiest sailor of the month" - Drama in the 52 Super Series

1. EDITORIAL

Staying in touch with all the sailing action...

To celebrate the 150th consecutive edition of the monthly News & Views, we are redesigning the AY Website and discovering new ways to post daily Race Reports, News stories and updating the Asian Sailing Calendar. This will alter the appearance of some pages and aims to enhance the way we display and deliver the news. So raise a glass of champagne and "Cheers" for helping us reach this milestone.

With the London Olympics in full swing and every available sailing news source worth their salt, focused on the action in Weymouth, AY have scoured the internet and providing our worthy Online Subscribers in remote areas of the world, with quick links to the official London 2012 - Sailing site and found the best way to view the games online. First log onto the ISAF Microsite for the Racing Schedule, News, Results and access the onEdition Image Gallery. Then at the scheduled times,(Around 1800 and again at 2300 East Asian Time) go to the ISAF and Sailing World Blogs for live reporting and photos from the courses during the racing.

All sports are broadcast LIVE on satellite TV and on the Official Olympic YouTube Channel (accessible outside the UK) can view selected daily races (Slightly delayed) from the scheduled start times. As we are monitoring all the sites, watching TV coverage and receive numerous daily newsletters, after sorting our way through the news overload, we will continue to post updates and interesting snippets we come across on Twitter and Facebook. So stay connected with these easy links at Sailing @ London 2012 - AY News

As the worlds best athletes strut their stuff on the International stage, life goes on the Asian scene by sailors just as determined to sail every race as they were contesting the medal races. Top sailors often use the old sailors cliche "Your only as good as your last race". In a few days time the biggest regatta in Singapore, the 15th SMU-RM Western Circuit gets underway over two weekends (Aug 4, 5 & 11) at Raffles Marina. Anything goes from keelboats and multihull's to beach catamarans, Laser SB3's and Access 2.3's for disabled sailors, right down to the IOM remote-controlled boats have turned this regatta into the premier sailing event on the Singapore calendar.

A lot of water has passed under the keel during July, including the hugely successful Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek which kicked off the 2012 -13 AYGP Championship in fine style. About the same time, Singapore Sailing were welcoming back their triumphant team, that completely blitzed the World Optimist Championships in the Dominican Republic and proudly brought all the silverware home. Other achievements that usually travel below the media glare were, Jon Wardill's Australian Maid winning the revamped Darwin to Dili Race in Timor Leste, the Royal Malaysian Navy DK47's striking gold at the Borneo Challenge and an armada of over 100 yachts departing Darwin on the 3-month character building Sail Indonesia Rally.

The action continues latter this month with the Darwin to Ambon Race starting on Aug 25th and quickly followed by the Sail Maluku Rally which takes adventure seekers to neighboring islands and other exotic destinations in the Maluku Marine paradise.

On the International scene - the Volvo Ocean Race are releasing highlight videos and soon to announce the course for the next race. The 2012-13 AC World Series starts in San Francisco from August 21-26 - Alpari World Match Racing Tour reached the half way mark of the season and Act 5 of the Extreme Sailing Series is in Cardiff, UK from 30th August - 2nd Sept. For your convenience, news on all these events along with other major yachting news can be accessed from the AY Homepage and much much more can be found below.
Wishing you blue sky, fair winds where ever you are sailing.
Capt Marty Rijkuris

2. AUSTRAL - ASIAN NEWS

2.1 Singaporean white-wash at OptiWorlds 2012
Thursday, 26 July 2012:The best was kept for the end at the Opti Worlds with the weather being ideal at the last day of the Championship. A sunny and clear sky, with a breeze of 10 knots was the perfect combination for the conclusion of the event. Two races sailed for all groups with several general recalls and black flags. Yokoyama Elisa Yukie and Neo Samuel Jiun Jie, both from Singapore had their own battle for first place and the rest of the fleet did not seem to be important to them. They both scored a bullet and had only one point difference when going to the final race. Right behind them was their compatriot Goh Jessica Kai Ling that also scored a bullet and was only one point behind second. All to be judged in the final race except for one thing, Singapore had secured all the podium places and left no chances for other countries to claim one. Bart Lambriex from Netherlands had an equally good performance scoring a 6th and a 1st place managed to break Singapore’s domination, throwing Loh Jiayi in fifth place overall and Lambriex claimed fourth. Yokoyama and Neo continued their flawless performances, scoring another bullet each and meaning that Yokoyama is the new Optimist World Champion for 2012. Neo was only one point behind him in second place and Goh, after a bad performance in the last race, took the third place overall. Read more: http://www.sailing.org.sg/news/12/039/index.php

2.2 RMN strike gold at Borneo Challenge
KOTA KINABALU: The Navy boys’ sheer perseverance, determination and consistency in performance paid off as they successfully won the 2012 Borneo International Yachting Challenge (BIYC). Malaysia’s entry through the Royal Malaysian Navy (TLDM), Utarid, became a sensation in their maiden participation as they not only clinched the overall champion title, but also consistently won in record times. The Navy sent two boats – Utarid and Uranus and both made instant impact in their maiden participation at the 9th Borneo International Yachting Challenge which was concluded in Kota Kinabalu last Friday. Utarid skippered by Ishak Jab is the winner in Miri Harbour Race, Labuan to Kota Kinabalu Passage Race and Kota Kinabalu Harbour Race. However, they lost to defending champion Selma Star in the Miri to Labuan Passage Race. Due to consistency Utarid was declared the overall champion and during the prize presentation ceremony held at Sutera Harbour Golf & Country Club, Utarid was announced as the winner of IRC Racing Class. The second place went to sister-boat Uranus while Selma Star had to settle for third place. Full story in Borneo Post or goto the Berhasa Malay version on the Navy Portal.

2.3 Rolly Tasker Memorial Trophy - 2013 Fremantle to Bali Race
The next Fremantle to Bali Race and Rally gets underway on 4th May, 2013 from West end of North Mole in Fremantle Harbour, WA. Following the death of legendary WA yachtsman Rolly Tasker the Western Australian state government has announced the creation of a memorial trophy to honour Tasker’s yachting successes and his links as patron and inaugural race record holder for the state’s only international yacht race. Deputy Premier, Dr Kim Hames announced the government’s establishment of the Rolly Tasker Memorial Trophy for Line Honours in the Wonderful Indonesia Fremantle to Bali Race and Rally acknowledging the impact Tasker had on the biennial race first sailed in 1981, which now attracts local, national and international entries to the event created by the Fremantle Sailing Club in Western Australia. Tasker’s link to the race was firmly established when his yacht Siska took line honours in 1981 with the record standing for 30 years until it was broken just last year. Race news at: http://fremantlebali.com.au/

2.4 Naked Ambition
Hoping to convince any doubters that sailors are athletes, too, 2008 gold medallist Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) goes sailing in the buff for ESPN the Magazine's annual The Body issue. 2008 Laser Radial gold medallist Anna Tunnicliffe was one of the lesser known athletes selected to participate in ESPN the Magazine's athletes-in-the-buff photo shoot for its annual The Body issue. But this dramatic photo, taken off the coast of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is likely to change all that. On Wednesday the world will see a side of Anna Tunnicliffe it hasn't seen before. Well, technically, the side (her right) has been seen plenty of times, but only a few have seen it like this, namely, unshrouded by clothes. Tunnicliffe said “I think it's a good opportunity to show that sailing's not just booze cruising, that you have to be athletic. So it was a great opportunity to show the world that it is a physical sport. -- Read on: http://www.sailingworld.com/racing/olympic/naked-ambition

2.5 Congratulations to Groupama Sailing Team
North Sails would like to congratulate Groupama Sailing Team on their 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race around the world win! Racing with a complete North Sails inventory, Groupama sailed the 39,000 NM course and finished their epic around-the-world journey with 253 points overall. The top five boats in the VOR raced with North sails, including PUMA Ocean Racing, skippered by USA's Ken Read, who won the VOR In-Port Race Series. Congratulations to all! North Sails has become the world leader in sailmaking through an ongoing commitment to making sails that are faster, lighter and longer lasting than any other sails in the world. Whether you race or cruise, North Sails is committed to designing and building sails that are just right for you! When performance counts, the choice is clear. Email: info@asia.northsails.com or check out their website at: http://www.northsails.com/

2.6 Singapore secures first victory in Clipper Race
After a tough tussle with light winds the final push for a podium position went down to the wire this morning and crossing the finish line off the coast of the Netherlands at 0724 UTC, Singapore, sponsored by Keppel Corporation, secured its first win in the Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race series with victory in Race 14 to Den Helder. Hot on the Singaporean entry's heels, Visit Finland secured its seventh podium success a mere 17 minutes later in second place and Gold Coast Australia completed the podium trio, a further 17 minutes after its Finnish rivals. However, Singapore's win spoilt the Australian entry's chances of matching the record for consecutive Clipper Race wins. Speaking of its first victory, Singapore skipper Ben Bowley says, "It feels absolutely fantastic we've been waiting for this for a long time. It's been a hard race and very challenging. It was neck and neck all the way through right down to the wire with only 17 minutes in it in the end but we are absolutely ecstatic and I am so please for the crew." Full story at: http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com

2.7 ETNZ first to launch AC72
Teams can launch their first AC72 beginning on July 1, 2012, but are limited to 30 days of training and testing on the boat during the remaining calendar year. Teams who elect to build a second AC72 are permitted to launch and begin sailing it on February 1, 2013. The Kiwis launched their first AC72 catamaran in a ceremony at the team base in Auckland, New Zealand on Saturday July 21. “The design team of more than 30 people has been working since the end of 2010. The build team started in August last year. The AC72i represents more than 50 man-years of design time and 65,000 hours of build time. ORACLE TEAM USA is also thought to be planning on a launch this summer. Artemis Racing was scheduled to launch their AC72 earlier this month, but pushed that date back following a failure in their 72 wing.

AC72 Principal Dimensions
Hull Length: 22.00 m (72 feet)
Length overall: 26.20 m (85 feet)
Beam: 14.00 m (46 feet)
Displacement: 5900 kgs (13,000 pounds)
Maximum Draft: 4.40m (14 feet)
Wingsail Height: 40.00m (131 feet)
Projected Top Speed: near 40 knots
Crew: 11 people @ maximum of 92 kilograms (202 pounds)
Additionally, in keeping with the goal of revolutionizing the media coverage of the racing, the AC72 has provisions for on board television cameras as well as surround sound and crew microphones

2.8 QUANTUM iQ delivers top results
Quantum Sail Design Group has elevated the art and science of sail making to a new level, resulting in the fastest and most efficient sail shapes and structures possible. It’s called iQ Technology™ and simply stated, it is the most intelligent system in the industry for making custom membrane sails. iQ Technology™ integrates state-of-the-art design and manufacturing methods with on-the-water testing in a systematic process that ensures outstanding sail performance, consistency and repeatability. The Quantum OD team members go the extra mile to provide the best service and the latest technology. Contact them to see how to help you move up the championship ladder. No matter what your boat size or sailing venue, find your speed at: http://www.quantumsails.com

3. INTERNATIONAL NEWS

3.1 Puma wins the Battle - Groupama wins the war
Galway, Ireland (July 7, 2012) - The PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG team closed out the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 on a high note, winning the Discover Ireland In-Port Race. With the win, PUMA also captures the overall In-Port Race Series. "We wanted to go out with a bang," said skipper Ken Read. "We took a little risk off the starting line and it paid off for us. And, it's fun to compete against the best sailors in the world, - it's a great way to finish" Camper, which finished second in the In-Port Race, concluded as the bridesmaid in both the overall race and the In-Port Race Series. While off the podium, clearly the big winner was Franck Cammas' crew on Groupama 4, the overall winner of the Volvo Ocean Race. "For sure it is a big dream - it's a great feeling for everyone," Cammas said. "We did not expect it so it's a big surprise, but it's a good one. "I think the secret was that we were outsiders at the beginning and we were forced to learn all the time. We had to learn to race against the best crews in the world and eventually it got easier. We made mistakes at the start but all the time we tried to get better, right until the finish in Galway." -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/VOR-070812

The next edition of the Volvo Ocean Race, will start in 2014 and they hope to have at least eight teams on the starting grid and raced in 65ft one-design boats. A consortium of boat builders are committed to deliver one boat every seven weeks from June 2013; the eighth boat being delivered in May 2014, four months before the beginning of the Volvo Ocean Race 2014/2015.

Timetable:
August 2012: New boat mould construction starts
December 2012: Notice of Race published
December 2012: New route for 2014-15 edition to be announced
June 2013: First boat launched. A new boat will be completed every seven weeks thereafter
Late 2014: 12th edition of the Volvo Ocean Race to start from Alicante, Spain
Keep updated at: http://www.volvooceanrace.com

3.2 The Bay Area becomes the Bay Arena
Can you believe that this month, on August 26th, they will be crowning the winner of the AC World Series San Francisco at the AC Village at Marina Green. The last AC45 event in Newport marked the end of the first season of AC World Series. Racing will start anew this month with the 2012-13 AC World Series in San Francisco, host city of the 34th America's Cup.from August 21-26. After Olympic duty, the new Ben Ainslie Racing team will join the circuit. This marks the first event of the new AC World Series season, and importantly, the first racing in the host city of the 34th America's Cup this summer. More details at http://www.americascup.com/ or view the Promo Video, it should help to whet your appetite for it!

3.3 DK 47 is the new game in town
If your serious about forming a racing team and joining the top racing class at major regattas in the region, the all new carbon fibre DK 47 is the boat to do it. DK Yachts is one of the most technologically advanced composite manufacturing facility in the SE Asian region. The design office works on high performance IBM CAD/CAM systems which are data supply linked to production and directly command the five-axis milling machine that accurately cuts hull plugs and moulds. Contained within the 110,000 sq ft facility is a multi-cycle computerized temperature oven (25m x 5m x 3.5m), a spray chamber (18m x 6m x 5.5m), an engineering workshop and a dedicated laminating room. In addition, DK also has an in-house 40m long autoclave to cure carbon fibre and kevlar finished products. So what are you waiting for? Serious Yachts for Serious Sailors can be found at http://www.dkyachts.com

4. WORLD SPEED RECORDS

4.1 New York to Brest in under 5 days
Yann Guichard and his crew of five crossed the finish line on Thursday July 12 at 12hrs 08m 37s UTC (14hrs 08m 37s) to take overall victory in the inaugural KRYS Ocean Race transatlantic race in an elapsed time four days 21 hours 08 minutes 37s, an average of 25.03 kts on this 2950 miles race course. In this first ocean race for the new MOD70 one design multihull class, Spindrift racing finished about an hour and a half ahead of Sebastien Josse's Groupe Edmond de Rothschild and FONCIA, who were about a quarter of an hour behind second, after a great race across the Atlantic from New York to Brest in winds which is rarely dropped below twenty knots. This is the first great ocean racing victory for Yann Guichard. Launched in January this year, Spindrift racing is MOD70 hull number 5, and has been taken on by his crew, which includes Pascal Bidegorry, Jean-Baptiste Le Vaillant, Jacques Guichard, Leo Lucet and Kevin Escoffier. Spindrift racing sailed an actual 3284 miles on the water at an average of 28.04 knots. Next on the MOD70 schedule is their 2012 European Tour. Starting on August 29, five weeks of intensive racing will see the MOD70s race nearly 5,000 miles in a mix of offshore competition, and races in the heart of five cities in five countries: Germany, Ireland, Portugal, France and Italy. More on this exciting class go to http://www.krys-oceanrace.com

4.2 Truth smashes Solo TransPac Record
July 9, 2012 – Hanalei Bay, Kauai: In an age when sailing records are 'smashed' by just a few hours - if not minutes - beating a 16-year-old transPacific record by nearly two and a half days is mind-blowing. But that's exactly what Alex Mehran did early this morning (01:16 PDT) at the finish of the Singlehanded TransPacific Yacht Race. Despite admitting to some bad sailing habits Mehran crossed the line aboard the Open 50 Truth shortly after 1 a.m., completing the 2,120-mile course in just 8d, 12h, 21m, 5s. He crushed the race's elapsed time record set by Ray Thayer on his Open 60 Wild Thing in '96 when he made it to Hanalei Bay in 10d, 22h, 53m. -- Here are the reports that Alex posted during the race: http://singlehandedtranspac.com/category/truth

4.3 Alex Thomson & Hugo Boss new Transat Record
Alex Thomson smashed the long standing trans-Atlantic sailing record 'West to East Ambrose Lighthouse to Lizard Point Under 60ft Single-Handed Monohull Record) and not wanting to miss out on the London Olympic 2012 Opening Ceremony managed to to get there a day early. The Gosport round-the-world yachtsman set sail alone from Ambrose Lighthouse off New York on Tuesday, July 17, and reached Lizard Point, off Falmouth. more than a day ahead of the cut off to beat the single-handed Atlantic record set by Bernard Stamm (10 days, 55 minutes and 19 seconds).

5. "Unluckiest sailor of the month"

5.1 Drama in the 52 Super Series
Palma 12 July: Damaged boats, a disqualification and an injured crewman marked a dramatic second day’s racing at the 52 Super Series Royal Cup regatta in Palma, Mallorca on Thursday, which was dominated by world champions Quantum Racing. The first race of the day set the stage for the dramatics that were to come, with a collision at the second windward mark rounding resulting in damage to Gladiator and PowerPlay. Gladiator were leading the fleet when they failed to make the lay-line and found themselves maneuvering into the chasing pack and on a collision course with PowerPlay. An on water jury found that Azzurra had failed to give Gladiator the appropriate room to avoid the collision and ruled that the Italian/Argentinean team perform a penalty turn. PowerPlay limped to the finish with broken port stanchions and minor hull damage, and later retired from race two. Gladiator were forced to retire from both races with damage to their bow sprit and bob stay. Gladiator and PowerPlay sought redress, which resulted in Azzurra being disqualified and the pair receiving an average points margin for the races they missed. The drama continued in the second race when Quantum’s Brett Jones found himself living every trimmer’s worst nightmare. Quantum tactician Andy Horton said Jones was in the middle of swapping a jib sheet for a spinnaker sheet on a winch when trouble struck. “His hand got caught between the two, it wasn’t a pretty sight, I’ve seen worse but this got about three fingers,’’ Horton said. “It was long enough that we had to get three or four people forward to hold the sail by hand to get the line off of it. We hope Jonesy is OK, but right now we’re looking for someone to replace him for the rest of the regatta.” More at: http://www.52superseries.com

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