Welcome to the AsianYachting March 2003
NEWS and VIEWS

50% Off High Seas Foul Weather Gear - Boots, Jackets, Bibs, all at great savings while supplies last. A great inexpensive line just became a killer deal using the AsianYachting SailNet - Where Sailors Get It!

DISTRIBUTION: to over 2700 recipients in 64 countries at last count.
The AY Homepage averages over 3000 new sessions per day. Thank you all!

CONTENTS

1. Editorial
2. "Unluckiest sailor of the month" Award
3. Asian News
4. International News
5. World Speed Records

Browse last years News & Views web editions by clicking on: January February March April May June July  August September October November  December

1. Editorial

The plans of The Race and the Volvo Ocean Race organisers to literally create a rolling four-yearly cycle of 'Grand' Events for the 'G class' Maxi Multi hulls and the new Volvo 70s, (see International section) which includes staging bi-yearly global events (The Race Tour 2006 and the Volvo Pacific Ocean Race 2007) with selected stopovers in Asian ports has stirred up public interest to welcome a mixture of adventure, technology and sport these sailing events will bring. As Malaysia encourages sporting tourism on a grand scale like the Formula 1 and has a long coastline that extends the length of the Malacca Straits is strategically placed for a SE Asian pit stop after participants complete the often turbulent crossing of the Indian Ocean. 

In conjunction with the inaugural Royal Langkawi Int. Regatta this month (11th - 15th) Commodore YAM Tunku Abdullah has invited The Race supremo and present Jules Verne record holder Bruno Peyron to check out the marine facilities in Langkawi and help form a 'stop-over' committee with a view to possibly producing a Malaysian or combined Asian One Design 80FT Class entrant which they aim to use to accelerate a multihull culture around the world.

Satellite TV connections with Ushant in France have been put on standby in Langkawi for Bruno to welcome fellow Frenchman Olivier de Kersauzon and the crew of Geronimo in case they break his Jules Verne record and finish before the 16th March. A round of meetings and press conferences have been planned and the daily AsianYachting RLIR 2003 Race Reports will contain race updates plus news on Bruno's visit and report on the progress in establishing "The Race Tour 2006 - Langkawi Stopover Team". More on the inaugural RLIR 2003 and the lead up “Rebak Champagne Run” can be found at: www.LangkawiRegatta.com and for a rundown on The Race, Jules Verne and other world record attempts just click on: http://asianyachting.com/news/WorldRecords.htm

Late News: Congratulations must go to Ernesto Bertarelli, Russell Coutts, Brad Butterworth and the crew of Alinghi for winning the XXXIst America's Cup 5 - Zip in Auckland today. Also many thanks to ESPN Star Sports for bringing the exceptional live broadcasts of the finals and numerous repeats into the living rooms of all Asian households that can afford satellite TV. Commiserations to the Kiwi's with their disastrous performance (See Unluckiest Sailors of the Month) but all good things must come to an end.
Happy sailing were ever you are!
Capt Marty

"Unluckiest sailor of the month" Award

Most of the month was very slow and only Scott McCook's report on Day 4 of the Carlsberg 3rd Hobie Tiger World Championship in Singapore added some spice when the NE monsoon returned to produce some big wipe-outs. The best one had to go to Mark Haswell/Kath Fong who for some interesting moments looked like they were trying to take out the committee boat!

Then Derek Hatfield was forced to return to land to sort his charging system out after starting Leg 4 of Around Alone and the new batteries he installed in Tauranga apparently caused a major electrical failure on Spirit of Canada. More was to come latter from his fellow competitors as they approached Cape Horn, Hexagon skipper Graham Dalton reported that his boom had snapped during a gybe and whilst American skipper Bruce Schwab was taking a nap on Ocean Planet was laid over by a big breaking wave, which lead to a disastrous sequence of events and his second boom break in this race "The boom broke right where it hit the runner, the runner deck block exploded and then the runner jammer ripped out of the deck leaving a good sized hole. Just what I needed!

After safely rounding Cape Horn race leader Bernard Stamm revealed that he has serious problems with his keel "The upper part that I use to manoeuvre the keel has broken. I can hold the keel with ropes in the middle but not able to cant the keel to windward. With the prospect of a 3,000 mile beat to Salvador forced to relinquish his lead to his closest rival, French circumnavigator Thierry Dubois on Solidaires and incur Bobst Group – Armor Lux a 48 hour penalty after a 22 hour pit-stop in Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands to repair his broken keel "

The biggest bangs where yet to come! At 2222 GMT 23rd Feb Ellen MacArthur's Kingfisher 2 was dismasted. They were sailing in moderate conditions of 25-30 knots of wind in a 1.5 metre swell under full mainsail and spinnaker approximately 100 miles south east of the Kerguelen Islands (50 50'S 72 08'E). Suddenly without warning the 39.5 metre carbon mast came crashing down and sadly putting an end to their Jules Verne attempt. The boat and crew are safe and quickly had a jury rig in place using the boom as a temporary mast and a 10 metre section of the mast that remained on the boat was used as a brace to keep the boom in place. Kingfisher 2 is presently making between 7 and 10 knots towards Perth in Western Australia their nearest practical safe haven, some 2000 miles to the east.

After making a disastrous start to the America's Cup match racing series Team New Zealand had to withdraw from Race 1 because the defending champion's boom snapped and the jib sail ripped away from the forestay on 2 occasions after taking on a lot of water over the leeward rail forcing them to retire and leave Swiss challenger Alinghi to finish the first in the best-of-nine series on its own.

Worse was yet to come! After a 10 day delay and facing a dismal scoreline of being 3 races down in very difficult, blustery, conditions, Team New Zealand dismasted in Race Four of the America's Cup - to many seasoned Cup observers their chances of a successful defence in the XXXIst America's Cup appeared to tumble down with the rig so Dean Barker and crew become the March winner of the "Unluckiest sailors of the month" Award

Asian News

1. Oriental Challenge begins for CLIPPER 2002/03 crews.
As the sixth race of the Clipper 2002 series got underway on 12 Feb with a 3,400 nautical mile race from Hawaii to Japan the eight-strong Clipper fleet embark on the third crew leg through Asia which covers a approx distance of 6,000 miles, over some seven weeks, on their way to Hong Kong via the Bayside Marina in Yokohama, Japan and the only yacht race to have a stop over in Shanghai (China) where the fleet motors in convoy up the Yangtze to be hosted by the new Metropolitan Marina Club of Shanghai. The race then restarts for the final stretch sailing through the Taiwan Strait for Hong Kong and the halfway point of the eleven-month circumnavigation.

After Hong Kong the fleet will then race on to the Philippines, Singapore, Mauritius, Cape Town, Brazil and New York before the final Atlantic crossing to the Channel Island of Jersey. A short sprint back to Liverpool, via Holyhead, will ensure an especially close race finish, with an expected arrival date of 27 September 2003. More at http://www.clipper-ventures.com

 2. The Mistral Junior Asian Championships (MJAC), Mistral Youth Asian Championships (MYAC) and the Raceboard Asian Championships (RAC) will be held from March 7th to 14th at the Penang Swimming Club with the co-operation of the Malaysian Sailing Federation. Contact Yeap Leong Soon Tel: +60 12 408 0568 Fax: +60 489 03271 The private Tanjung Bungah Bay site will be open from 0930hrs to 1900hrs for registration & enquiries.

3. The Melbourne/Osaka Double Hand Yacht Race, first held in 1987 to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the opening of the Port of Osaka, is held every four years by the City of Osaka. Yacht designer Jon Sayer twice winner of the Osaka Cup launched his SUMO 101 design at Brisbane's Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron. Team FGI measuring 10.1m overall will be sailed by Jon Sayer and Joel Berg in preparation for the Melbourne to Osaka Race starts on March 15 Event site is http://www.osakacup.com

4. LQX Yachts in the Philippines are pleased to announce that the Streaker Class have been given the opportunity to join the One-Design Division of the county's premier international regatta - THE PRESIDENT'S CUP 2003. Racing is scheduled on 19 to 21 April prior to the big boat event and the awards will be presented on 22 April at Subic Bay Yacht Club, which is actually the President's Cup big opening party. Email Edmund Umali euna@info.com.ph as a number of Streakers will also be available for charter at P1000 per day.

5. Coral Sea Classic regatta (6th to 17th May)
This regatta began in 1979 and has been run bi-annually since. It incorporates 7 races between Townsville and Cairns Australia finishing in Port Moresby PNG on May 17 this year. Carol Turnbull and Paul Roberts (Capt Ron) have chartered the VOLVO 60 'Merit' for the upcoming event and have 5 crew places still available for a 3 week period involving yacht pick up at Airlie Beach delivery and racing to Port Moresby and delivery back to Mooloolabah. Their 'Merit' site is at www.merit-sail.com and they can be reached by emailing captnron@datec.com.pg or phone 0011 675 693-8220  BH,  0011 675 320-0578 AH.

6. The number of pirate attacks rose to 370 last year, up from 335 in 2001 according to the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB). Indonesia continues to record the highest number of attacks with 103 reported incidents in 2002. Piracy attacks in Bangladesh ranked second highest with 32 attacks and India is third with 18 attacks. Nigeria and Malaysia recorded 14 attacks each. Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Guyana have shown a marked increase in attacks. It appears that piracy is on the increase in South America. - http://www.mgn.com/

7. Safety and Sea Survival Course (SSSC) goes to Hong Kong
As a result of the 1998 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race and the subsequent successful introduction of the SSSC in Australia, all category 1 races conducted under the RORC now also have to have 30% of the crew, including the skipper, SSSC qualified. The Hong Kong Yachting Association (HKYA) approached the AYF to help implement their own training program. This resulted in Shane Kearns of Sailing Solutions conducting 3 courses over a 10-day period in January.

The courses are conducted at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club and the wet drills at the adjacent Police Club. The course is exactly the same as what is delivered in Australia with a “local” module added. This ensures that the HKYA SSSC certificate will be accepted worldwide satisfying Section 6 – Training for yacht race entry in Category 2 and 3 races. If any yacht club or other organization is interested in conducing a course for their members, email sailingsolutions@ozemail.com.au for more information.

8. Sailing causes waves at Arafura Games 2003 (17-24th May)
Sailing at the 2003 Arafura Games is expected to be one of the biggest sailing events to ever be held in Darwin. By combining the Laser Asian Pacific Championships with the Arafura Games, the event gives Laser sailors a chance to qualify for the 2003 Laser World Championship..

9. Selected AY Brokerage Listing
A Brett Bakewell-White Titan 36’ MataHari 1999 racer-cruiser with full racing and cruising inventory and Category C safety equipment. Great for offshore sailing and cruising round the ASEAN region. If you are interested return email captmarty@asianyachting.com Browse more Boats for Sale at: http://asianyachting.com/boats/yachtsforsale.htm

International News

1. ROLEX "SPIRIT OF YACHTING" FILM SERIES
Rolex have produced a yachting film series called the "Spirit of Yachting"  There are 3 films of 24 minutes each on the following events:
 - The Giraglia Rolex Cup (main focus "The boats")
 - The Rolex FARR 40 World Championships ("The Professional" (Paul Cayard))
 - The Rolex Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race (main focus "The Event")

BBC World aired the Giraglia Rolex Cup last month and look out for the next two on the upcoming Europe (CET) TV schedule - All transmissions are broadcast on the BBC World global feeds at the following times: Asia (HK) +7 hours, Asia Pacific (Sydney) +10 hours, India (Delhi) +4.5 hours.

2. As some of her fellow Around Alone competitors have joined the "Unluckiest Sailors" (above) Emma Richards despite her boat problems is one lucky girl. Last week her sponsor Andrew Pindar, boss of the Scarborough-based print and multimedia company of his name, rocked into Tauranga and after a meeting agreed to extend Richards' sponsorship for another three years. "We've never had a written agreement," says Richards. "Our sponsorship has always been on a handshake. It's great to have that kind of trust." The deal is very informal and is not a case of the present deal coming to an end and being renewed. "It's more looking at the three years going on from here," she says.

3. AROUND ALONE 2006
Clipper Ventures Plc have announced that the 7th edition of the Around Alone Race will be very different. It will start from the USA in late August, 2006 and be sailed in IMOCA Open 50s & 60s. These faster boats will shorten the race by two months.

Negotiations are underway with a respected and high profile Race Director to be appointed for 2006 Around Alone prior to the completion of the current race. An independent panel of experienced solo sailors and other stakeholders under the leadership of David Stubley of Fast Track, a sports marketing company, will be formed to advise the race management. Three skippers have already agreed to join the advisory board: Mike Golding, a previous competitor in the race, with Bernard Stamm and Brad Van Liew, both current skippers in this race. Fast Track has been commissioned to generate sponsorship and media partners for the 2006 event. There will also be a substantial cash prize fund. www.aroundalone.com

4. For some brilliant photos of some of the biggest megayachts to be assembled recently go to the New Zealand Millennium Cup Superyacht Regatta 2003 site which was held in Auckland during February.

5. GOOD READING
Warren St. John's New York Times story: "Pursuit of the America's Cup Can Be Fulfilling, and a Curse," points out that if history is any guide, sometime during or not long after the AC regatta, some terrible misfortune will befall at least some of the major players, in the form of lost fortunes, prison terms, even untimely deaths.

6. Explaining where the money goes in a high tech America's Cup campaign is a tricky business, but totting it up is easy. Even a conservative guess would put the total amount of money spent on this season's America's Cup campaigns at a staggering US$550million. - Matthew Sheahan.

7. Glenn Bourke, CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race 2005 - 06 has laid down the challenge; 'To find the most consummate all-round ocean racing team the world has ever seen'. There are big changes in store including a brand new, state of the art, 70' monohull race-boat with canting keel and bulb, a choice of one or two centreboards, one or two rudders, standardised carbon fibre mast and a reduction in the number of sails from 38 to 20. The new boat will be easier to sail, with fewer sails to handle and better living conditions for the crew. The race rules favour imagination, creativity and sailing skills, and not an environment where the biggest purse necessarily gives a bigger edge. Above all, it will be very fast and exciting to sail. Another new feature for the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-2006 will be the inclusion of six in-port races, with points counting towards the overall result.

Finally, underlining its commitment to international sailing, Volvo is proud to introduce an exciting new ocean-racing event, to be held in 2007. The Volvo Pacific Ocean Race, will be sailed in the new Volvo 70s and will visit Asian ports, including China and Japan, crossing the Pacific ocean to San Francisco and San Diego in the USA.  For current images and drawings of the new race boat go to: www.volvooceanrace.com

8. Big changes could be instore for the America's Cup according to a report in The Economist magazine. As Alinghi, the Swiss team looks poised to defeat America's Cup holders Team New Zealand, Alinghi's backer, billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli has expressed a desire, according to The Economist, supported by Larry Ellison, billionaire backer of the defeated Oracle BMW Racing team, to turn the America's Cup into a sporting spectacular more akin to Formula One motor racing. Bertarelli and Ellison envisage a series of qualifying regattas leading up to finals every one or two years. Teams would race at different locations around the world.  -- IBI News

World Speed Records

1. Steve Fossett and PlayStation set a new Columbus Route Record
Skipper Steve Fossett (USA) and his crew of 12 aboard the maxi-catamaran PlayStation achieved more sailing history as they broke the East - West Trans Atlantic sailing record by over a day. They arrived at the island of San Salvador, the Bahamas following their 229-1/2 hour crossing from Cadiz, via the Canaries. Sailing with extraordinary sustained speed (boat speed rarely dropped under 20 kts) in just a little over 9-1/2 days, Fossett and crew, followed the same route as Columbus did in 1492, averaging 16.93 kts over the official 3884 nautical mile course. New world record of 9 d 13 h 31 min 18 secs - pending final confirmation by the WSSRC - http://www.sailspeedrecords.com)

The 125' maxi-catamaran and her international crew have broken the previous East - West Trans Atlantic mark of (10 days 14 hours 53 mins 44 secs), set by co-skippers Bruno Peyron (FR) and Grant Dalton (NZ) on the 110' cat Club Med in June 2000 despite sailing a total distance with a weather detour of 4704 nm and recording a across-the-water average of 20.5 kts, thus completing a matched set of Atlantic records for Fossett and PlayStation. (In October 2001 they set a new West-East Atlantic record, streaking from New York to the UK in 4 days, 17 hours, 28 minutes.) Steve Fossett - aboard both PlayStation and the 60' trimaran Lakota now holds 10 of the 13 fastest outright ocean passage records recognized by the WSSRC. See more at: http://www.fossettchallenge.com

2. Sailrocket for the Record?
Paul Larsen, the 32 year-old Australian who sailed with Pete Goss aboard Team Philips, plans to break the outright world speed sailing record this year aboard the 30ft carbon fibre flier Sailrocket. Reaching a speed of 50 knots over the 500m course (in 19.5 seconds) is going to be a tough nut to crack but Larsen believes his Sailrocket Team has the 'right tools for the job'.

This wacky-looking speed machine, which weighs just 140kg (similar to a Hobie 16) and costs a total of £200,000 to design and build, is according to Larsen, more of a proa than a catamaran with two tiny planning surfaces set on a fuselage. And the most unusual thing about this new design is the fact that it flies the leeward hull. The 22sq m rig is positioned on a pod to leeward, with the shrouds always set to windward but, as Larsen points out, unlike most proas, such as Yellow Pages Endeavour, which are effectively one-tack boats, Sailrocket will have a moveable rig.

3. World Speed Records on Land and Ice
Windjet is a British project to break three separate World Speed Records on Land, Ice and Water using Wind Power alone. The project is the culmination of five years of design and development and during 2003 will challenge the land, ice and water speed records for wind powered vehicles. The Windjet ice vehicle is now stationed in Thunder Bay (Ontario), it is simply a case of waiting for the right wind and ice conditions to begin the assault on the 143 mph (229 km/h) ice sailing World Record.

In order to cover large amounts of territory very quickly, a light aircraft was chartered to survey Thunder Bay and the surrounding area, looking for the best ice. The area chosen for the initial test runs is a continuous ice sheet around 18 miles (29 km) long by 10 miles (16 km) wide - to give you some idea of the size of this ice sheet, in land configuration the Windjet vehicle is capable of breaking a World Speed Record on a strip 2 miles (3.2 km) long by 55 yards (50 m or 0.05 km) wide. - http://www.windjet.co.uk/

4. DRAKE PASSAGE CONQUERED
Sun 9 Feb 2003. Roberto Pandiani (45 years old), Brazilian and Duncan Ross (39 years old), South African are the first sailors in the world to cross the Drake Passage on an open boat without cabin. They left Cape Horn bound for the Antarctic Peninsula on Satellite a 21' open catamaran after waiting for the right weather window and it took them 83 hours to cross the famous and fearsome Drake Passage - the infamous 500 miles of open ocean that separates Cape Horn and the Antarctic Peninsula known as the roughest ocean in the world....

---- How to become a Advertising Sponsor in the News & Views? ----

Find out the incredibly low rates on offer to click through advertisers in this popular newsletter. Try composing a few lines insert a hyper link to your website and email news@asianyachting.com for a obligation free quotation. All enquiries are treated individually and in confidence.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once again, if you have found this issue of AsianYachting News & Views useful and interesting please forward it onto your sailing friends.
Kindest Regards
Capt Marty Rijkuris

AsianYachting HQ
A308 PD Perdana Condo Resort
Batu 5 1/2 Jln Pantai
Port Dickson 71050
Negri Sembilan
Malaysia

HQ Phone: +6-06-6477701
Capt Marty Rijkuris Handphone: +6-016-2714134
Welcome to the Wonderful World of Yachting at http://AsianYachting.com

To remove a email address from the AsianYachting - News & Views circulation list or to add a address to receive future newsletters and racing reports return email the webmaster news@AsianYachting.com with your instructions and correct addresses.

Return to Past Newsletters
Return to AsianYachting Homepage