AsianYachting May 2005
News and Views

Sunsail the award winning Best Asian Charter Company are now offering great Flotilla Sailing Holidays from May to September at their Koh Samui base in the picturesque Gulf of Thailand. Check out the terrific rates on their Sun Odyssey 35's and Oceanis 461 at www.sunsailasia.com or contact them at: sales@sunsailasia.com Tel: +66 76 239057

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CONTENTS

1. Editorial - Koh Samui Regatta last up on 2004/05 AY Grand Prix Championships
2. "Unluckiest sailors of the month" - Yves Parlier Mediatis Region Aquitaine
3. Austral - Asian News - New Event Singapore - Horsburgh Challenge
4. International News - CLASH OF THE TITANS on Transatlantic Challenge
5. World Speed Records - Windsurfers GETTING CLOSER TO 50 knots

Browse past News & Views - Web Editions click on: May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb March April and the Asian Tsunami reports...

1. EDITORIAL

It's time to throw away the old tie and suite, dig out your favorite floral shirts, swimming costume and flip flops, then fly out to one of the worlds exotic tropical island retreats and join the Koh Samui Regatta from the 22nd to 28th May. It maybe the last event on the 2004/05 Calendar but the wonderful relaxed atmosphere at Koh Samui combined with some warm Thai hospitality and top racing makes this venue one of the best in Asia. It therefore will not come as a surprise that this mixture of passage and buoy racing in the Gulf of Thailand has been chosen for the presentation of the 2004/05 AY Grand Prix Championships that has been running throughout the year (See rankings) at a combined gala celebration dinner and prize giving evening at the Central Samui Beach Resort that marks the end of the season.

With 11 points it may seem that Neil Pryde and his former Hi-Fidelity have rapped up the 2004/05AY Grand Prix Skipper and Yacht Championships as his closest rival the Nick Burns/Fred Kinmonth owned Mandrake (10 points) are not going to the season ending Koh Samui Regatta. A possible new threat has recently appeared with the sale of Peter Ahern's YO! (8 points) to Prime Projects director Toby O'Connell who is taking the boat around to KS and a win there could tie them with Hi-Fidelity and on countback score the yacht of the year award. Neil Pryde will still win the Skipper of the Year award from the 14 skippers that have scored points this year and deservedly take home the navy blue blazer and pop the champagne in grand prix style. Take a peek at this seasons progressive point score or see how your favorite racing team finished up in the AY Rankings http://asianyachting.com/news/Rankings0405.htm

Boat owners and sailors that would like to have a say in the future of yachting in SE Asian waters are reminded to enroll for the Yangon to Manila Bay Yachting Symposium scheduled for the Crowne Plaza Mutiara in Kuala Lumpur on May 26 - 27th. Bruno Peyron the fastest skipper around the world is a VIP guest, amongst some distinguished speakers expected to open discussions on taking a coordinated approach to Marine Tourism, addressing Piracy issues and standardising pleasure-craft regulations in the region. To help keep the momentum going afterwards they will be posting some of the speeches and Q & A sessions on the website at: www.symb2005.com or E-mail them at: contact@symb2005.com

In recent AY Race Reports we have taken the opportunity to highlight countries bordering the South China Sea as a new cruising destination and promote the pleasure craft facilities taking shape along with the vast nature tourism attractions the region has to offer. Click on Borneo Cup and Top of the Gulf Regatta to get the full run down from one side of the South China Sea to the other.
Happy sailing for now
Capt Marty Rijkuris

2. "Unluckiest sailors of the month"

On his second bid to set a new 24-hour solo speed record, to surpass the existing solo record of 540 miles held by Laurent Bourgnon, French skipper Yves Parlier capsized his 60-foot catamaran Mediatis Region Aquitaine on Monday 25th April. Parlier suffered a broken rib and 2 vertebras was picked up by a diverted Chilean cargo ship and dropped of 3 days latter at Tarragona in Spain. Parlier returned to the circumstances of the capsizing on the cargo boat "The boat began accelerating by lifting the hull. I had difficulties to slacken the mainsail to slow down, so went out on deck and managed to slacken but the boat gradually overturned on the edge and I fell towards the opposite hull". His shore team based in Las Palmas of Gran Canaria have salvaged the catamaran which was localized by its beacon and drifting west of the Canaries. Evidence that pushing these boats to the limit solo, really is on the edge. For more info visit http://www.parlier.org

High and dry in Antigua
Maximus a NZ built 100ft supermaxi was supposed to have arrived by ship from New Zealand (with Nick Lykiardopulo's Kerr 55 - Aera) on 22 April giving the crew just enough time to prepare for the 38th Antigua Sailing Week. A few days before the regatta started the onion ship carrying the two boats broke down which meant they wouldn't make it on time. A week on, co-owners Charles St Clair Brown and Bill Buckley were still seething and still can't believe they've spent a whole week at Antigua Sailing Week with their entire crew 'twiddling their thumbs' while their multi-million pound yacht was floating out in the mid Pacific.

MORE THAN 15 MINUTES OF FAME
When Joe Schmidt took his Santana 22 YachtSea out for yet another Saturday sail, he had no idea he was on the way to his 15 minutes of fame. Photographer Wayne Lambright finishing up a photo essay on the surfers of San Francisco at Fort Point saw a sailboat dangerously approaching the wrong side of the Golden Gate Bridge tower and told the crowd, "LOOK, this sailboat is going to surf the waves!"

Then it was swallowed up by the waves, rolled over, capsized and sunk. Happily, surfers came to the rescue, and saved the two sailors who knew they had made a splash, with all the Coast Guard boats and helicopters overhead. As Scuttlebutt reported "There is a 'must see' slide show posted on the SF Survey website" over the next two weeks Lambright's website had 17,000,000 page views and nearly crashed his server. If you haven't seen the images goto: http://photos.sfsurvey.com/sailH/index.asp or Kimball Livingston's Sail magazine story at:
http://sailmag.com/SAILBOATCRASH/

3. Austral - Asian News

3.1 Singapore - Horsburgh Challenge (29 May 05)
The Horsburgh Challenge will be inaugurated on 29 May 05 in conjunction with the official opening of the SAF Yacht Club’s Changi clubhouse. From 2006, this new-sprung 48-nautical mile race into the South China Sea and back will be held at the height of the blustery northeast monsoon to serve as the club's signature keelboat event well into the future. Attractive prizes include a Locman watch (by Pacific Time) for both the IRC and the Club Handicap class and the IRC winner awarded the prestigious Chief of Defense Force (CDF) Cup. More details at: www.safyc.org.sg

3.2 Fastest sailing gloves in the world
Many thanks must go to Bruno Peyron for testing the AY Southern Ocean Gloves during his record breaking round the world voyage, which passed with flying colours. Previously known as the fastest selling gloves in Asia have just earned the title of the fastest around the world! More on AY Gloves at: http://asianyachting.com/Mall/AYGloves.htm

3.3 Rally through Indonesia proving popular
Over 60 yachts are expected to depart from Darwin, Australia on Sat 23rd July for a extended rally through Indonesia. The “Yayasan Cinta Bahari Indonesia” (translate ‘for love of the seas of Indonesia’) and the Indonesian Tourist Board will host the yachts at three locations this year with gala dinners, a cultural exposition and traditional dance shows on the agenda.

First stop is Kupang, West Timor for a Welcome Dinner at the famous ‘Teddy’s Bar’ were the 60 day Cruising Permit and Social Visas will be distributed. Then its off to Kalabahi, Alor (just a short sail north from Kupang) were yachties will be treated to a beach party by the kind and generous ‘Bupati of Alor’. Then the sail continues west over the top of Flores to ‘Riung’. This small village is surrounded by 13 small, uninhabited islands with great swimming & diving. An overnight inland tour to the nearby ancient mountain village of “Bajawa” is also on offer. The cultural and geographical differences between the islands of Nusa Tinggara Timor are a remarkable education and introduction to the wonders of Indonesia. After all the organized programs, all rally boats will be free to cruise through Komodo & Rinca islands (“thar be dragons”) and explore Indonesia to Bali and beyond. More details at: http://www.darwinbalirace.com or Contact: mail@darwinbalirace.com Also goto: http://www.balimarina.com for information on cruising Indonesia.

3.4 Quantum's FusionM gets with the strength!
Asian sailors may be interested to know that one of the world's leading edge sailmaking factories can be found in their own backyard. Since it's formal introduction Quantum's FusionM sails have taken the world by storm. For a product update, including setting-up and gybing asymmetrical spinnakers on boats with ‘conventional’ spinnaker poles, plus an all important article on "The fine art of Crewing" and the results of a recently held racing rules question and answer session with International juror Graeme Owens goto: http://asianyachting.com/news/QuantumSails.htm

3.5 Skipper for Singapore Clipper
Aussie Richard Falk (37) from Leichhardt, NSW won the race to skipper Uniquely Singapore the Singapore Tourism Board's ocean racer for the coming Clipper Race. Sentosa and PSA International, the first two Race Partners of Uniquely Singapore will join STB in supporting Singapore's involvement. Clipper 05-06 is the world's longest circumnavigation race, that sets sail from the Albert Dock in Liverpool (UK) on 18 Sept, with Asian stopovers in Singapore and mainland China before returning in the summer of 2006 after some 35,000 miles of intense competition on the high seas. More at: www.clipper-ventures.com

3.6 What's Brewing?
Looking for a good night out in Singapore? Brewerkz Restaurant & Microbrewery opened its doors in June 1997. Besides handcrafted beer, they also offer great American-style food and good "old fashioned" service. You'll find them at Riverside Point on the Singapore River. Brewerkz has a factory-like interior with an open-plan 18-hectoliter brewery. So if you feel like chilling out, grabbing a beer, a game of pool while viewing your favorite sport, or just sitting outdoors and watch the river go by, goto: http:///www.brewerkz.com

3.7 Round the world North to South
Auckland, NZ - Graeme Kendall set out to become the first yachtsman to sail non-stop around the world via the Northwest Passage on his 12.5m (41-foot) cruising yacht Astral Express is expected to take him up to six months. He is paying for the venture himself in aid of Variety, the children's charity, for which he hopes to raise $1 million. The Northwest Passage is blocked by ice for most of the year, which tends to freeze up in some places to 2m thick, generally thaws in the late summer months of August and September," he said. The Astral Express, launched two months ago, has a kevlar hull with a reinforced bow and a steel retractable keel. It was built for Arctic conditions, where minimum temperatures in the summer could fall to minus 15C taking in the wind chill factor. Follow their progress at: http://www.astralexpress.com/

3.8 Dare 2 be Different - Charter a winner!
The much talked about tandem mast, bi-plane rig has mainly been used to power up experimental out and out speed machines. But now the Radical Bay 8000 - a production 8m catamaran built right here in South East Asia is available for bare boat or skippered charter around Koh Samui and the surrounding islands. So now YOU can find out what it is like to sail the Phuket Kings Cup 2004 winner! Want to own one or see just how easy and safe this radical new design and simple rig handles by going to the Coco Sailing website: http://www.cocosailing.com

3.9 Next up from Qatar
Due to the success of the Oryx Quest Tracy Edwards has confirmed her Quest Qatar round the world race with stops will indeed go ahead and is now scheduled to start mid-September 2007. They are still finalizing the route which is likely to take in Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, San Francisco, New York, Brest France (homeport for Olivier de Kersauson) and Cape Town before returning to Doha. Within this route are three potential major passage records (Trans-Pacific, San Francisco-New York, and New York-Lizard). The present thinking is that Quest Qatar will be divided into two classes - monohull and multihulls with a minimum length limit of 90-100ft. Tracy Edwards says that so far she has had eight enquires for those looking to enter multihulls and another eight for those with monohulls. Talk is of the new Team Qatar boat being a 130ft catamaran designed and built by Gilles Ollier & Associates. - More at: www.qisel.com

3.10 Featured AY Grand Prix Yacht Brokerage
1976 Sydney - Hobart Race winner - Previously Aussie registered Piccolo is considered one of the original Farr 1104's to be built in Lake Maquarie by John Pickles which helped put young Kiwi designer Bruce Farr onto the road to fame and glory. A brief history, recent maintenance plan and additional equipment added plus a summary of the 1976 Hobart Race can be found at: http://asianyachting.com/boats/Farr1104.htm

3.11 Calculate you own IRC results
To support IRC racers, clubs, and race organizers alike, US Sailing has made available a list of valid IRC Time Corrector (TCC) Ratings and an IRC Time-Difference Table - which allows owners to compare ratings with other boats and to better understand the rule. Although these are unofficial ratings and shall not be used for scoring purposes as each boat is required to have its own unique certificate IRC (Rule 5.3). More importantly the IRC Time-Difference Table is also now available. This interactive online tool allows users to enter their TCC rating against other competitors to determine 'who owes who time' and Elapse Time differences. Website: www.ussailing.org/offshore/irc/Handicaps.htm

3.12 China Team sets sail on America's Cup
Within hours of the challenger deadline passing for the 32nd America's Cup, a challenge dossier and a 1 million Euro bond from China Team arrived that must be evaluated by the defending yacht club Société Nautique de Genève before being fully accepted as a challenger. "With 11 challengers representing nine countries plus defender, Team Alinghi this is not just one of the biggest, but it is by far the most diverse America's Cup in history. Three countries participating for the first time - South Africa, Germany and China, and five continents are represented, reinforcing the global appeal of the America's Cup," said an excited Michel Bonnefous, the CEO of the event organiser. "This is exactly what we wanted for the first America's Cup in Europe".

Founded in March 2005 with the creation of a joint venture between Mr. Chaoyong Wang, Chairman of China Equity Investment, a leading Chinese venture capital firm, and the French sports management company Le Defi, is the first syndicate to fly the Chinese flag in the history of the America's Cup. Thanks to the support of the Chinese Yachting Association and represented by the Qingdao International Yacht Club, China Team is expected to bring a great number of young Chinese talents to the highest international level, in-shore as well as offshore. http://www.china-team.org

4. International News

4.1 CLASH OF THE TITANS on Rolex Transatlantic Challenge
Two of the world's fastest racing monohulls are set to go head-to-head during the upcoming 2005 Rolex Transatlantic Challenge. The race starts May 21st off New York and after passing through a gate off The Lizard, finishes at The Needles, on the Isle of Wight, UK.

Robert Miller's 140-foot (43m) Mari-Cha IV may be a similar size to some of the giants in the Performance Cruiser class, but she differs in being an out-and-out racer, with a utilitarian interior free from any luxury. main competition in the Rolex Transatlantic Challenge is from New Zealand -- the brand new 100-foot (30.5m) Maximus owned by Bill Buckley and Charles Brown, the latter of whom is Sanderson's step uncle. Designed by Greg Elliott, who was also part of Mari-Cha IV's design team, Maximus may be 40 feet shorter than her rival but benefits from state-of-the-art technology, maintains Charles Brown Follow the race at: www.transatlanticchallenge.org

4.2 Warning to all offshore racers.
DK Yachts are warning all offshore racers to watch out for when one of their Malaysian built Mum 30, Farr 36, 40, 52, 520 or Mills DK46 lines up on your starting grid. As the European summer unfolds the DK46's of Erivale (Mike Greville), Fidessa Fastwave (Chris Brown/Peter Harding) and Shockwave (Nick Lutte) are expected to be knocking on the doors of success to be standing high on the podium. Serious Yachts for Serious Sailors can be found at http://www.dkyachts.com

4.3 Calais Round Britain Race starts on 22nd May
The second version of the Calais Round Britain Race starts on 22 May for 60 foot Orma class multihulls and Imoca class monohulls is organised by Royale Productions together with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the port of Calais which always welcomes the great players of ocean racing. Winner of the recent Vendée Globe, Vincent Riou also won the first race back in 2003 will be keenly watching and commenting daily on the race says " If you missed out, this is a great opportunity for us to rediscover and celebrate with some of the Open 60 ft skippers since their return from the Vendée Globe… " Follow the race at http://calaisroundbritainrace.com

4.4 Dame Ellen MacArthur in the spotlight
25th April Buckingham Palace: The Queen honored 150 recipients during the investiture ceremony including Ellen MacArthur who was appointed The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire to be Dame Commander. At 28 years of
age, Ellen became the youngest person to be named a Dame. Her record solo round the world passage was a record-breaking project in more ways than one. The B&Q/Castorama sponsored campaign also demonstrated the value of a sport that provides excellent uncluttered branding opportunities, a positive natural image and the potential to engage mainstream worldwide audiences - as well as internal teams.

Some of the key record-breaking figures:
- 4 minutes national news in the USA on ABC, CNN and NBC (OC Group data)
- 34 million TV viewers watched the finish in Germany (KK)
- 2 prime time terrestrial documentaries broadcasted in the UK - ITV and BBC1
- More than 3000 press articles from more than 20 countries
- Interest in sailing doubled by 20% (Ipsos UK)
- Ipsos research shows a staggering 57% brand association for B&Q (the best Premier League football shirt sponsorship scores about 26%).
- The official website had over 700,000 unique visitors on the finish day, and over three million in total over the 71 days -
More at www.offshorechallenges.com

4.5 Contemplating Cruising Cuba?
Commodore José Miguel Díaz Escrich from the Hemingway International Yacht Club in Cuba founded on May 21st, 1992, has worked diligently with love and passion to keep friendly links with more than 500 yacht clubs, boating institutions and cruising associations. They would be proud to help any AsianYachting members to an unforgettable sail through thousands of islands and keys of the Cuban archipelago and enjoy the friendly character and hospitality of the Cuban people. More info about Cuban marinas, anchorage, boatyards, etc as well as coordinate a safe and easy crossing plus corresponding with Cuban maritime authorities Email yachtclub@cnih.mh.cyt.cu phone: 53 7 204 1689 Fax: 53 7 204 66 53

5. World Speed Records

5.1 GETTING CLOSER TO 50
The WSSR Council announced the ratification of two new world records. The Outright World Sailing Speed Record of 48.7 knots was set by Finian Maynard of the BVI, sailing a Windsurfer F2/ Naish, at St Maries de la Mer, France on 10th April 2005. Also set was the Outright World Women's Sailing Speed Record and the Women's 10 square meter Class Record of 41.25 knots by Karin Yaggi of Switzerland, sailing a F2/ Arrows, at St Maries de la Mer, France also on 10th April 2005. The previous records were 46.82 knots (2004) and 40.05 knots (1993) respectively. More at: www.sailspeedrecords.com/

5.2 Spain's VO 70 MOVISTAR breaks a World Speed Record
The Southern Ocean: Another new record has been ratified by the World Sailing Speed Council. This one is for the longest distance sailed by a Monohull in 24 hours. The new record is 530.19 nm (average speed: 22.09 kts) sailed by Bouwe Bekking and his Telefonica Movistar, VO 70 crew on April 4-5. The previous record was held by Robert Miller's Mari Cha IV with a distance of 525.7 nm.

Four days out of Wellington (New Zealand) en route to Cape Horn, sailing south-south east about 2,000 miles from New Zealand, MoviStar confirmed everybody's expectations for the new Volvo Open 70 design. "This is brilliant news - just what the boat was designed for," said Glenn Bourke, Chief Executive of the Volvo Ocean Race. "Congratulations to the MoviStar team. Our speed predictions for the new Volvo Open 70 were right on target, showing that it's possible to cover 500 nautical miles in just one day. More at: http://www.volvooceanrace.org

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