Is parking that bad at the club? Hey!

ASIAN NEWS

THE ASIAN YACHTING REGATTA 2002/03 SEASON GOES AHEAD!

A huge amount of interest has recently been shown in the new Sportsboat designs. The Phuket 8 has been designed specifically for SE Asian conditions and Somtum Express managed to take line honours in every race they completed in Langkawi, recording boat speeds of 12-13 knots at times in maximum airs of around 15 knots. The next outing will be the Koh Samui Regatta where two Phuket 8's are scheduled to take part. At this stage there is no sport boat class scheduled at Ko Samui, therefore it will be interesting to see how they fare in the IRC Racing division. More on the Phuket 8...

3. Cancelled Events
First the San Fernando Race was cancelled as permission was withdrawn for Hong Kong boats to land in the Philippines and now a event that brings thousands of competitors together from around Australia, South-East Asia and the Pacific the Arafura Games to be held in Darwin, Australia's Northern Territories has also fallen victim to or succumed to the increasing concern about Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) going around at the time. This is the first international sporting event to be cancelled in Australia which shows just how quickly widespread and diverse in nature this disease can be. http://www.arafuragames.nt.gov.au

The organisers of the Laser Asian Pacific Championship which was to be held in conjunction with the Arafura Games have announced that they will go ahead as planned from May 15 - 23. For more information visit the NT Laser Association website www.ntlaser.ais.net.au or the Darwin Sailing Club website www.dwnsail.com.au

4. The Clipper 2002 Round the World yachts sailed from Hong Kong initially for Singapore which was latter changed to Batam after the Race Committee decided that due to a unfavourable weather forecast for the next 72 hours that a prudent option would be to shorten the race at the gate known as KK to the West of Kota Kinablalu in Sabah, East Malaysia. The eight racing yachts then headed for nearby Sutera Marina and despite the short notice, all the health, quarantine and immigration considerations were taken care of and all other arrangements were sorted out in double quick time. They are currently en route from Kota Kinablalu and due to arrive at Nongsa Marina, Batam, Riau Islands on May 2nd. The visit will be supported by the RSYC, Riau Yacht Club and Nongsa Resort. See what happened with the on again - off again San Fernando Race and News on the 8 Clippers NOW headed for Batam, Indonesia http://asianyachting.com/news/SanFern03.htm

Clipper yachts For Sale: After 4 successful circumnavigations, and no expense spared re-fits in between the current 8 Clipper 60 ft yachts built by Colvic Craft in 1996 are due to be replaced. They have proved fast, robust and reliable in service and have many years of useful work ahead of them. Their accommodation layout, manoeuvrability and forgiving ways, make them ideal for sail training. The boats will be available from end September 2003. Price £245,000 plus VAT.

5. It's Karakoa's President’s Cup
SUBIC Bay, Philippines — Ray Ordovesa's Karakoa kept its perfect record intact, winning first place yet again to make it a six-race sweep in the Open Division at the close of the 11th President’s Cup Regatta. Full report and photos http://www.manilayachtclub.com/

6. On a recent trip to DK Yachts in Malacca I noticed amongst the many projects underway that Farr International have developed a racer/cruiser version from the Farr® 52 OD. These moderate to light displacement flyers have already achieved world renowned success - Bear of Britain being overall winner of the America's Cup Jubilee Regatta in the UK. Using the same hull and foils the new Farr® 520 will be a no-compromise contender under all major handicap ratings which at the same time is comfortably appointed below decks with a beautifully conceived and detailed interior styling by Design Unlimited. Imagine being able to serve up a roast leg of lamb from a well appointed galley and dining around a comfortable settee/table setting during a long offshore yacht race. More on DK Yachts can be found at http://www.dkyachts.com

7. New Marina for Phuket Town?
About 200 government officers, local business owners and residents gathered at a seminar at the Royal Phuket City Hotel to discuss guidelines for the construction of a 66-billion-baht marine center in the waters off Saphan Hin.

The project, called the Ao Phuket Development Project, aims to see the construction of hotels, a commercial complex, office buildings, a civic center and a marina covering an area of 2,210 rai in the bay off Saphan Hin, all financed by private investors. The seminar was part of a feasibility study being conducted by BBMT (Thailand) Co Ltd to establish guidelines for the Ao Phuket project.

9. Quantum Sails South Asia located in Malacca, Malaysia can now produce Structurally Reinforced Membrane (SRM) sail technology and service within Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore from a whopping 45,000 square foot manufacturing, sales and service loft that employs 60 people. According to Quantum CEO Glen Peck, "The addition of Quantum South Asia is in keeping with our expansion plans within key sailing regions around the world." Phone 60-6-231-6145 Website: www.quantumsails.com

10. IOC approves Logo for the 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES in BEIJING
"Young, dynamic - bringing together the historical and cultural heritage, as well as the future of China", these were the words used by IOC President Jacques Rogge to describe the logo of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing 2008. The logo was officially approved by the IOC following a presentation made by a BOCOG delegation led by Mr Jiang Xiaoyu, BOCOG Vice-President. The official unveiling of the emblem will take place in Beijing on 25 May. The competition for the logo was launched last July in Beijing and some 2,000 entries were registered. The choice of the logo was made by a jury composed of Chinese and international design experts. For further information, please visit the 2008 Olympic Games website.

11. The 2 Handed Tasaki Melbourne to Osaka Cup 2003 fleet started off Portsea Pier in Melbourne Australia and now 29 days and almost 5000nm later, skipper Brian Petersen and crew John Bankart on the New Zealand built sloop Maverick II are the first to cross the finish line. 'Its been a difficult passage, punctuated with gales and storms on the edge of Australia's Bass Strait, a glorious trade wind run up towards New guinea, then a difficult time through the doldrums of the Solomon seas and a long beat north to Japan'. A roundup can be found at: http://asianyachting.com/news/MelbOsaka.htm

International News

1. Does your racing team have a "no limits" spirit of adventure?
Mark Turner at Offshore Challenges reports that Ellen's giant catamaran Kingfisher 2 (Bruno's ex-Orange) is presently For Sale in Perth WA to racing teams with a "no limits" spirit for between $2.1million and $2.9million, depending on the state/inventory and stage in time of sale. In her basic form, she is available in Fremantle, with a new bigger mast 75% complete in France, and otherwise most of the present racing inventory intact and in very good condition. For 2.9m, she’s back in Europe with a new mast, full IT and communications kit, new mainsail, in the water and almost ready to go on The Race II by March 2004. They are happy to discuss any options in between with seriously interested parties in more detail. No tyre kickers thanks as he does not expect this fantastic deal to last very long.

2. What the new Volvo Ocean 70s might look like?
For starters, the boats will be 70ft LOA. While only an extra 6ft in length from the old VO60's might not sound like a big change, the increase in volume goes up by the cube, while the sail area goes up by the square. Canting keels will be allowed and water ballast is still under consideration. "A canting keel alone could move designs towards narrow boats," said Bruce Farr. "Water ballast could mean we'll see beamy boats, much like the current breed of Open designs." With an anticipated bulb weight of around five tonnes canted to weather, the power developed would be substantial so stability will be at the heart of this new generation of boats, influencing both the speed and the shape of monohulls to come in the future.

The sail plan could be as much as 50 per cent more powerful than a Volvo 60 with a crew limit down from twelve to nine (in the case of an all male crew). As this in itself could directly effect the yachts performance by putting new and greater demands on fewer crew what we want to know at AsianYachting will the use of a auto pilot option (similar to the Open Classes) be allowed to assist the crew in safely handling a boat of this size during the race? - To keep up as this exciting new class develops updates will be posted on the Volvo Ocean Race website at: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/

3. Around Alone 2002/03
The 28,000 mile, 8 month grand prix Around Alone race is going to reach its zenith for Swiss skipper Bernard Stamm on Bobst Group - Armor Lux as he crosses the finish line in Newport RI. This is his fifth straight time to arrive first in port, not only will he have won Leg 5 to make it four leg wins in total, but also secured the coveted victor's place on the podium for Around Alone 2002-03. A complete round up with photos can be found at http://asianyachting.com/news/AroundAlone.htm

4. Non-stop from Hong Kong to New York
April 23, 2003, 34°57'S 19°13'E / Atlantic Ocean - Two American adventurers Rich Wilson (Rockport, Mass.) and Rich du Moulin (Larchmont, N.Y.) sailing non-stop from Hong Kong to New York celebrated a major milestone today as they navigated their 53-foot trimaran Great American II clear of the dangers of South Africa's treacherous Agulhas Current and entered the Atlantic Ocean. In their 11-week-long 15,000-mile voyage the pair is aiming to break the 154-year-old passage record set by the extreme New York clipper ship Sea Witch which raced her cargo of tea to Manhattan's waiting markets in 74 days. See the chart showing the relative positions

World Speed Records

1. Ellen MacArthur GOING SOLO AGAIN
This time on a purpose-built 75ft trimaran, one gets the impression that firstly a great weight seems to be lifted off her shoulders and secondly the old pre-Vendee, pre-Mini spark has returned. This project is something she is really enthusiastic about and has previously discussed it with multihull designer and close friend Nigel Irens prior to the start of the Mini Transat way back in 1997.

The two main records Ellen wants to nail in her new 75ft trimaran are the single-handed west to east transatlantic record and the singlehanded 24 hour record. Both are currently held by Laurent Bourgnon when on an extraordinary solo trip in June 1994 aboard his 60ft trimaran Primagaz the fearless Swiss sailor not only set a new time for the passage of 7 days 2 hours 34 minutes and 42 seconds, but during the course of the trip covered 540 miles over one 24 hour period. For the latest news on extreme sailing, and Ellen's projects go to http://www.teamkingfisher.com

2. Sailrocket going for the 'outright speed sailing record'
The wacky-looking, speed machine built to break the outright world speed sailing record, will be launched at the first day of the Southampton Boat Show in September. This interesting 30ft carbonfibre flying machine designed by Malcolm Barnsley will be sailed by Paul Larsen, the 32 year-old Australian who was involved with Pete Goss' Team Philips campaign. "The plan is to reach a speed of 50 knots over the 500m course (in 19.5 seconds) needed to capture the outright speed sailing record." Said Larsen.

3. WSSR apologies to Laurent Bourgnon
John Reed from the WSSR reports a rather important omission from the list of "Ratified Passage Records" That of: Transatlantic W to E, Ambrose Light - Lizard Point, single-handed, 2925 nm Jun 94, Laurent Bourgnon FRA, 60 ft (18.29m) Primagaz T (I) 7d 2h 34m 42s Averaging 17.15 kts.

4. Other News - 3 new entries in the "Performance Certificate" section

First singlehanded 20ft Sport Catamaran. Las Palmas to Guadeloupe
Alessandro Di Benedetto ITA/FRA
Hobie Cat Formula 20
2002, 28d 11h 36m 2s

La Gomera to Barbados. Fastest crossing to date.
Tony Bullimore GBR/Fedor Konyukhov RUS
"Scarlet Sails" 102ft Catamaran
March 2003, 9d 23h 17m 3s

First Single-handed Round the World, Victoria BC to Victoria BC, Canada
Tony Gooch CAN "Taonui" 42ft Monohull
Sept 2002/Mar 2003, 177d 23h 46m 2s

5. Breaking News
Sources have confirmed that Steve Fossett and his gang of record assailants on PlayStation may be at it again soon. First up, the Antigua-Newport record, a 1,650-mile burn from one debauched sailing island to another. An attempt was made earlier in the spring, but a screacher block (spinnaker lead block) pulled out from the deck and a massive low that formed off the East Coast scuttled that run, so the team headed back to Antigua. PlayStation is now headed for Newport to prepare for an attempt at the 24-hour record, and they need to get there before the summertime Bermuda Highs start to take over.

Tony Bullimore is starting any day now for a "Performance Certificate" Jamaica (Montego Bay) to the Lizard voyage.

Michael Reppy starting soon on his 3rd attempt on the Transpacific single-handed record. He really deserves to succeed this time.

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

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