0 Sail Racing PalmaVela sets sail for its 16th edition

• Regatta news
• by Team Racing-Yachts.com
• 11-02-2019

The Real Club Náutico de Palma's regatta, to be held from 8th to 12th May 2019, has already registered nine different participating countries. The sixteenth edition of Sail Racing PalmaVela, organised by the Real Club Náutico de Palma, has kicked off with the publication of the Notice of Race and the pre-registration of the first 31 boats, already representing nine different nations. The competition will be held in the Bay of Palma at its traditional time of year, between 8th and 12th May, and will be hosting many different kinds of sailboat, ranging from the smallest adapted class for the disabled, to the great over 30-metre "maxis." "PalmaVela is one of the major events on the Mediterranean calendar, and well established in all the different classes. Organised at the start of the season, it is also one of the opening events, just a few days after Palma celebrates its international Boat Show," explains Vivi Mainemare, sporting coordinator for the Real Club Náutico de Palma. As a new feature this year, the One Design class will be including the Viper 640 alongside the J80, Dragon and the Flying Fifteens. The Viper is 6.40m long and 2.5metre wide, cabin-less and is sailed by two to four crew members. Manu Fraga, sporting director of the RCNP describes the class as, "an ideal alternative for fans of fast, speedy sailing, due to its lightness and the rig with a large gennaker (asymmetric spinnaker), making it incredibly swift, particularly downwind." The RCNP has included the class as part of its real time competition, "We are still including the other One Design classes, but we have seen that the Viper is creating a great deal of interest, and believe it could work really well, both in our regional events, and others such as the Princesa Sofía Iberostar and Sail Racing Palma Vela," added Fraga. With four months to go, Sail Racing PalmaVela has already received registrations in almost all the classes: Wally (1), ORC (8), IRC (1), Box Rule (6), Dragon (2), Flying Fifteen (6), Viper (1), Classics (1) and Disabled Sailing (5). "These are significant figures considering that it is just under two weeks since we published the Notice of Race. The interest for this regatta is huge, and we are sure that we will equal or even better last year's 132 boats from 26 countries." The sheer number and types of boats involved, make the organisation of Sail Racing PalmaVela a true logistical challenge for the Real Club Náutico de Palma, with up to four different race course areas, and up to 150 people involved in the shore crew and on the water teams.  

0 MC38 2019 Season Act 1 at Cruising Yacht Club of Australia

• Regatta news
• by Team Racing-Yachts.com
• 11-02-2019

9-10 February 2019 Maserati Act 1 winner - 2019 McConaghy 38 CYCA Regatta   Over six races Neville Crichton's Maserati posted enough low point scores to claim the top trophy at the opening act of the MC38's 2019 season, which drew the maximum Sydney fleet of nine active boats. Racing got under way on Sunday February 10 on a track set by Cruising Yacht Club of Australia race management officials between Taylors Bay at Mosman and Rose Bay on the eastern side of Sydney Harbour in cool SE-ESE winds averaging 14 knots and gusting up to 20. Live videos of Sunday's races at www.facebook.com/MC38Class Maserati's strategist Joe Turner - a straight switch with Ben Lamb who has taken up the tactician role - said: "Today was tricky with 50 degree shifts on the course. Sometimes you were in phase and sometimes not. Things are coming together again for Maserati though we still think there's another 10% to pull out of the boat in terms of our upwind speed." The next time the full one design class meet will be at the MC38 2019 Australian Championship over three days, March 15 - 17, out of the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club. Defending boat is Steve Barlow's Lightspeed and Maserati is looking to go one place better than last year. "We finished runner-up in 2018; it would be nice to get a championship win for Neville who has been in the class for a number of years now," Turner added. Shaun Lane, co-owner of the act 1 second overall placegetter Lazy Dog, declared his championship intention without a second's hesitation: "We want to win. We'll be doing more training with exactly the same team, and tuning up the sails a bit more. It's great to have nine boats out... you can't make a mistake." Lazy Dog is the only MC38 running Doyle sails and the owners have appointed a professional coach who, based on their act 1 form, is overseeing a feasible nationals tilt in what is only their second MC38 season. Multiple round-the-world sailor Chris Nicholson was watching from the sidelines as Lazy Dog led the day one scoresheet and eventually finished sandwiched between Maserati and Lightspeed. Some MC38 teams will use Middle Harbour Yacht Club's annual Sydney Harbour Regatta in early March to sharpen up prior to the national title. There were some new familiar faces among the teams - dual 470 Olympic gold medallist Mat Belcher as guest tactician on Marcus Blackmore's Hooligan and filling in for his dinghy crew Will Ryan, Noel 'Nitro' Drennan on main for Leslie Green's Ginger and Rob Greenhalgh joining Ross Hennessy's Pittwater based Ghost Rider as tactician. A number of younger faces who were mid-week duelling at the Hardy Cup international match racing regatta out of the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron joined bigger MC38 teams in various roles. James Hodgson and Finn Tapper, both Hardy Cup semi-finalists sailing for the CYCA, and Jess Angus from the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club were among the MC38 Sydney Harbour action, Angus saying "It's proving to be really competitive with nine boats - now you have to be happy with a fourth. There's a lot of talent in the class," Hooligan's offside trimmer for the past year added. There were hits and misses. Steven Proud's latest addition to the fleet in Swish (was Vino), with Farr 40 owner Tom Quick helming and Billy Sykes on tactics, initially retired from race 5 then the day with backstay damage. Chris Way's Easy Tiger crew suffered a spinnaker drop failure in the final race 6, the entire kite dragging underwater next to the boat but able to be retrieved and a result posted. CYCA race officer Steve Kidson described Saturday's conditions as particularly challenging given the breeze direction of east then nor'east and two ships on anchor, one off Shark Island which interfered with setting a course. Prior to that the fleet was held ashore for an hour under postponement and again on the harbour. Three races were completed until dark clouds hovering over the Harbour Bridge pulled the nor'easter around and sent the fleet ashore, one race shy of the day's original schedule. Act 1 Results: 1 NZL80 MASERATI Neville Crichton 5 2 1 2 5 1 16  2 MH777 LAZY DOG Shaun/Quentin Lane/S 2 1 4 7 2 4 20 3 38001 LIGHTSPEED Stephen Barlow 1 5 3 6 1 6.5 22.5 4 38002 DARK STAR John Bacon 4 8 2 1 3 6.5 24.5 5 AUS521 HOOLIGAN Marcus Blackmore 3 6 5 3 6 2 25 6 AUS38011 GINGER Leslie Green 9 9 6 5 4 3 36 7 404 GHOSTRIDER Ross Hennessy 8 4 7 9 8 5 41 8 38014 EASY TIGER VI Chris Way 7 7 9 4 7 8 42 9 226 SWISH Steven Proud 6 3 8 8 10R 10S 45  

0 2019 ORC Rules, VPP and Calendar Of Events Now Available

• Regatta news
• by Team Racing-Yachts.com
• 08-01-2019

Milan, Italy - The Offshore Racing Congress (ORC) is pleased to announce the 2019 versions of its Rules and regulations, Velocity Prediction Program (VPP) and Worldwide Calendar of events are now published and are available on the ORC website at www.orc.org. These are available both for the ORC and ORC Superyacht rating systems. Organized into separate rulebooks and documents, the ORC rules include the International Measurement System(IMS), the ORC Rating System rules for ORC International and ORC Club certificates, the ORC Superyacht Rule, the ORC Sportboat Class Rules, and the ORC Championship Rules, Standard Notice of Race, Standard Sailing Instructions, and the ORC Championship Checklist, collectively known as the "Green Book." These are available for viewing and download at www.orc.org/rules. The changes are summarized at this link: www.orc.org/changes Among the changes are improvements made to the aero- and hydro-dynamic modeling of the ORC VPP based on research, observations and user requests. For example, the model for added resistance due to waves was upgraded, the windage drag due to hiked crew was improved, and the model for crew weight position was improved to be optimized for boat speed and not just heel angle. In the IMS, there are not many changes, but some measurement procedures are clarified and streamlined, such as internal ballast, propeller shafts that are not installed on centerline can now be measured, position of the weights for boom inclinations and minor clarifications on mainsail and mizzen staysail measurements. In the ORC Rating System rules for ORCi and ORC Club, numerous clarifications are made in rules for ballast systems, boats with both asymmetric and symmetric spinnakers may now declare that the asymmetric sails are flown only on centerline, and other minor items. For the Green Book, new 2019 CDL limits defining the three classes at ORC Championship events have been devised for minimal disruption to the fleet from the 2018 limits, and are as follows: Class A: 16.50 >= CDL > 11.62 Class B: 11.62 >= CDL > 9.80 Class C: 9.80 >= CDL > 8.60 The only change was small shift in the Class A-B split at 11.62 m CDL. And for ORC Club and ORC International certificates, national rating offices may now opt to include a new appendix page of ratings based on specific course models in addition to the standard Long distance/Coastal and Windward/Leeward models shown on current certificates. The 2019 ORC VPP Documentation will be available soon after the 2019 ORC VPP gets distributed to the 35 independent Rating Offices located around the world. For those interested in subscribing to the 2019 DVP, this is available now at the discount rate of EUR360/year until 15 January, when the price increases to its regular rate of EUR600/year. More information on the 2019 DVP can be found at http://www.orc.org/dvp. The 2019 ORC Superyacht (ORCsy) Rules are also nw available online from the ORC Superyacht page at http://www.orc.org/superyacht. And for those interested in subscribing to the ORC Superyacht DVP, this is also available now for EUR840 for existing subscribers and EUR1200 for new subscribers on the ORC Superyacht page at http://www.orc.org/index.asp?id=206. And for those interested in seeing how the 2019 VPP affects the ratings of their boat or others in the fleet, the ORC's Sailor Services system is also now equipped to run Test certificates, Speed Guides and Target Speeds for nominal prices payable through PayPal. This unique public access system is available after free registry at www.orc.org/sailorservices. In addition to the 2019 Rules and VPP, the 2019 ORC Worldwide Calendar of Events is also on the ORC website at www.orc.org/calendar. This list of event information has been provided by race organizers, rating offices and others and is continuously updated as new information becomes available. And the ORC Superyacht Calendar of events is available at www.orc.org/superyacht. More on ORC rating systems, ORC certificates and events can be found at www.orc.org.

1 Unique opportunity to race a competitive and highly optimized Swan 42

• Charter
• by Team Racing-Yachts.com
• 30-12-2018

Second last built Club Swan 42 refitted and highly optimized for competitive racing. Now available for the following prestigious races in 2019. MONACO SWAN ONE DESIGN       April 9-13  more info: https://clubswan50.com/events/2019-monaco-swan-one-design/ SCARLINO SWAN ONE DESIGN     April 30 – May 4 more info: https://clubswan50.com/events/2019-scarlino-swan-one-design/   Highlights yacht - New shaped keel and rudder - New sails 2018 3Di North Sails:  Light Medium heavy Main A1.5 A2 A4 - New H5000 B&G electronics  

0 Wild Oats XI takes line honours 

• Regatta news
• by Team Racing-Yachts.com
• 28-12-2018

Val Oatley described Wild Oats XI’s Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race line honours victory perfectly alongside the dock in Hobart this morning: “Three years of misery to this moment,” and you could not wipe the smile from her face or that of her sons, Sandy and Ian, as they waited for their super maxi to moor alongside Kings Pier. Three years of trauma for the Wild Oats family when the yacht retired from the 2015 race with a torn main followed by Bob Oatley’s death in January 2016. Another retirement in 2016, this time with hydraulic ram issues. Then came last year’s much publicised finish when Wild Oats XI was penalised one hour after an incident with Comanche and lost her line honours crown and a new race record to Jim Cooney’s ‘aircraft carrier’. This year’s victory makes it a new record of nine line honours for Wild Oats XI, which broke the seven years of line honours stranglehold of Kurrewa/Morna in 2014 with her eighth line honours crown. Perennial skipper Mark ‘Ricko’ Richards generously handed the helm over to the Late Bob Oatley’s grandson, Daniel (Ian Oatley’s son), on his third Sydney Hobart on the family yacht, before they crossed the finish line after gybing all the way up the River under Code Zero. Wild Oats XI won the hard-fought battle between four of the five super maxis entered in the race. Until 6.30am this morning, the four were still locked in a tight fight for honours - just 4 nautical miles separating them before Wild Oats XI came into her own. Peter Harburg’s Black Jack from Queensland was second over the line at 8.35.06am, followed by Comanche at 8.36.09am, after the two went gybe for gybe to the finish after rounding the Iron Pot. Christian Beck’s InfoTrack finished at 08.51.17am. Never before in the history of the race have we witnessed four yachts fight for supremacy throughout the entire race. It kept us all on tenterhooks the most exciting Sydney Hobart line honours stoush since Bob Bell’s Condor of Bermuda beat Jack Rooklyn’s Apollo over the finish line by seven seconds in 1982. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHz0eMUozpk   By Scuttlebut www.rolexsydneyhobart.com

1 Join VOR70 for Southern Ocean Leg

• Charter
• by Team Racing-Yachts.com
• 21-12-2018

Join VOR70 for the Southern Ocean Leg from Auckland to Ushuaia/ Puntas Arenas Chile  There are 5 spots left! Contact us for more info

1 Merry Christmas

• News
• by Team Racing-Yachts.com
• 21-12-2018

Racing-Yachts.com wishes you Happy Holidays and all the best for 2019!   See you on the water!

0 2019 ORC EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP OPEN FOR ENTRIES

• News
• by Team Racing-Yachts.com
• 19-12-2018

Oxelösund, Sweden - The Oxelösunds Segelsällskap and the Offshore Racing Congress (ORC) are pleased to announce that the 2019 ORC European Championship being held over 11-17 August is now open for entries. Oxelösund is a relatively young port town in the scenic region of Södermanland, 100 km southwest of Stockholm on the Baltic coast. This is a new venue among many in Sweden that have hosted past ORC European Championships, including Gothenburg, Marstrand, Sandhamn and Ystad. This history and the success of the venues in the Baltic region indicates a strong enthusiasm about ORC racing, with the current record number of entries being the 83 boats from 11 nations that competed last year in Gdansk, Poland. This many and perhaps more are expected to converge on Oxelösund in August to enjoy several days of inshore and offshore racing after two days of measurement and inspection formalities. Racing will be held in three classes, with European Champion titles awarded to entries in Class A, Class B and Class C, with class splits defined by the CDL ratings in the 2019 ORC VPP, which will be available soon after the New Year. One team is excited about competing in their back yard, their home being on the west coast in Gothenburg: Patrik Forsgren's modified Beneteau First 36.7 Pro4U. This team has been consistently winning ORC championships in Class C for the past few years, including Gold in Gdansk in 2017, Gold in Estonia in 2015, and Bronze at the Worlds this year in The Hague, Bronze at the Worlds in Copenhagen in 2016, and Silver at the Worlds in Kiel in 2014. "I've sailed these waters since I was a kid," said Forsgren. "The mix of archipelago and open sea right on our doorstep is the perfect background for challenging racing. I'm really happy that Oxelösund gets the opportunity to arrange the ORC championships and I'm looking forward to coming home. If we're able to get the trophy, it's even better!" "We are really looking forward to returning to Sweden and having another successful Europeans regatta," said Bruno Finzi, Chairman of ORC. "This region has a long history of excellence in offshore sailing, so we expect a lot of good teams and strong enthusiasm. We urge all who are interested to sign up early in their planning for a high-quality event." Already there are 18 entries signed up from six nations, with many more expected soon. Entries fees are offered at discounted rates prior to 30 April 2019, the fees then increasing until 30 June, then increasing again until the close of entries on 15 July. An important part of planning is booking accommodations for the team, and these can be made in Oxelösund or nearby Nyköping at these sites: www.visitoxelosund.se/boendewww.nykopingsguiden.se/bo More information on the ORC Europeans can be found at https://orc2019.oxss.nu, with entries made at http://european2019.orc.org/en/default/races/race-inscription/text/preliminary/YES/cruise/yes. More on ORC rating systems, ORC certificates and events can be found at www.orc.org.  

1 2019 D-MARIN ORC WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP OPEN FOR ENTRIES

• News
• by Team Racing-Yachts.com
• 11-12-2018

Sibenik, Croatia -- In June 2019 Sailing Club Val, D-Marin Mandalina and the City of Sibenik will host the 2019 D-Marin ORC World Championship, which will attract around 150 sailboats and 1,000 sailors from all over the world to participate in this prestigious regatta. This will be the greatest sporting event ever held in Sibenik. The official regatta program will start on May 31st with sailboat measurements, while the opening of regatta will take place on Sunday, June 2nd in the Old Town of Sibenik. Except in D-Marin Mandalina, the sailing boats will also be berthed on beautiful Sibenik waterfront promenade, so locals and their guests will be able to see them from up close. The regatta will last for six days and will be divided in one long and one short offshore navigational races with the remainder of the program being buoy racing on two course areas.   Final awards ceremonies will be held after racing on June 8th in the D-Marin Mandalina marina, as D-Marin is the general sponsor of the event.  "The D-Marin ORC World Championship will be the most significant nautical event of the season and we couldn't be more proud for hosting it in Croatia. This gives us an opportunity to simultaneously promote nautical sports in Croatia, as well as the alluring charm and rich cultural heritage of Sibenik", said Burak Baykan, CEO of D-Marin Group. Sibenik has hosted numerous past championships Along with Sailing Club Val, the marina D-Marin Mandalina has hosted many other high-level international regattas including the 52SuperSeries, the Croatian ORC D-Marin Cup, and various Farr 40, Melges 24 and Melges 32 Class events. "We are very pleased to return to Croatia for our ORC World Championship event," said Bruno Finzi, Chairman of ORC. "Sibenik is a beautiful venue, and everyone who has come here has been extremely impressed. It was in 2011 here in Croatia where the number of ORC World Championship entries exceeded 100 for the first time, so we are looking for another strong turnout for 2019 and a great regatta for all." "The fact that Sibenik will host 2019 ORC World Championship is a big recognition for our Sailing Club Val, the City of Sibenik and the whole of Croatia. In June 2019, Sibenik waters will be full of the world's best sailors, and millions of people around the world will get to see that. This is an excellent promotion for our town and it gives us an optimist view of the next tourist season," said Zeljko Burić, Mayor of Sibenik. Entries are now open at the event website: www.orcworlds2019.com.

0 NEW YORK YACHT CLUB TO HOST 2020 IRC/ORC WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

• News
• by Team Racing-Yachts.com
• 01-11-2018

Sarasota, Florida, USA -- The Offshore Racing Congress (ORC) working in cooperation with the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) and Union National Course au Large (UNCL), founding partners of the IRC rating system, are pleased to announce the approval of the New York Yacht Club (NYYC) to host the 2020 IRC/ORC World Championship in Newport, Rhode Island, USA.  This will be the first World Championship for offshore boats held in the United States since the IMS World Championship in 2000, also hosted by the New York Yacht Club. "We are very pleased to work once again with RORC to plan this important event on the offshore sailing calendar," said Bruno Finzi, Chairman of ORC. "It has been too long since we have been away from the U.S., where US Sailing was one of our founding members when ORC was formed in 1969." Competitive offshore racing is in the DNA of the NYYC - photo Daniel Forster/New York Yacht Club The proposed dates are 25 September - 3 October 2020, subject to slight modifications pending review by a Working Party formed by members representing all three partners to start on the detailed planning. "Our experience in The Hague for the first edition of the IRC/ORC World Championship this year was positive on many levels," said Steven Anderson, Commodore of RORC, "There is a strong desire to continue this cooperative momentum towards the future. We have agreed that IRC and ORC will work with each other to approve and plan these Worlds events every two years so that our sailors may also plan to put this on their calendars as well." The Worlds have not been in the USA since last held at NYYC in 2000 - photo Daniel Forster/New York Yacht Club "Offshore sailing is part of the DNA of the New York Yacht Club," said Commodore Philip A. Lotz. "Our waterfront clubhouse at Harbour Court combined with Newport's tremendous sailing conditions and extensive marine infrastructure, provide what we feel is one of the greatest venues for offshore racing. The Club is very excited to welcome the world to our hometown for the 2020 IRC/ORC World Championship." The typical format of the combined Worlds has been 2-3 offshore or coastal races, followed by 6-7 inshore races. Racing will be in three classes defined by the size and rated speeds of the boats, and all-amateur Corinthian prizes will be offered in each class. ORC and IRC ratings will be used to score the racing, however the Working Party will make the final determination on how when a Notice of Race is issued for the event in 2019. www.orc.org