More strong upwind conditions for the GOR trio

[source: Global Ocean Race, Oliver Dewar]

The first week of Global Ocean Race (GOR) Leg 3 has been the most demanding of the entire circumnavigation so far with strong conditions for the five double handed Class40s from within hours of the start in Wellington, New Zealand, on Sunday 29 January.

Conrad Colman and Adrian Kuttel led the fleet in to Cook Strait from the shelter of Wellington Harbour with Cessna Citation right into 30-knot headwinds and big seas forcing the fleet to reef for the first night at sea. As light faded, Halvard Mabire and Miranda Merron took pole position with Campagne de France as Marco Nannini and Hugo Ramon split from the fleet and took Financial Crisis on a flyer south parallel to the coast of South Island.

As the main pack of the fleet dropped south-east leaving Chatham Island to port, the leadership changed constantly and the speeds increased with Ross and Campbell Field on Buckley Systems delivering the highest average of 14 knots with Campagne de France, Cessna Citation and the South African duo of Nick Leggatt and Phillippa Hutton-Squire with Phesheya-Racing all polling averages of 13+ knots.

By Wednesday, Financial Crisis had re-joined the group as the fleet prepared for strong south-easterly headwinds with Buckley Systems leading and 20 miles separating the front three boats with Campagne de France furthest south a 49 degrees. Beating into a Force 8-9 gale with the boats hurled through immense seas took its toll and on Thursday evening at 48S, Ross and Campbell Field – leading the fleet on Buckley Systems – and Halvard Mabire and Miranda Merron on the Franco-British entry, Campagne de France in second place, abruptly turned north. Initially this was thought to be a move to avoid 40-50-knot headwinds, but injury and gear damage on Buckley Systems had forced the Fields to head for port in Auckland, 1,000 miles to the west, with Mabire and Merron making the same call.

For the complete update, click here.

Volvo Ocean Race Game Leg 3 Finish

We finished Leg 3 in 2912th spot, an improvement from leg 1 & 2, but I think we can do better again in Leg 4.

In the Malacca Strait we closed in on the top 1000 but once the leaders reached Singapore they got a little extra puff an opened up a really nice lead.

Overall we are now 4536th out of an estimated 177,000 boats! Not bad, although the car looks out of reach at this stage!

Telefónica take the hat-trick with a Leg 3 win

Telefónica took another win in Leg 3 of the Volvo Ocean Race in what many of the crew have named as an extremely tough leg.  Telefónica may have had Code 0 troubles on the first day but with their "never give up" attitude the team pulled it back together to sail through the tricky Malacca Strait and lead the fleet in to the South China Sea, never looking back. 

Puma had a tough leg with several mishaps, a collision with a tree trunk, a snare with a fishing net and then to top it off, their flyer off to the east in the early stages of the South China Sea did not pay off.

IAN ROMAN/Volvo Ocean Race

Leg 3 results:

1. Team Telefónica - 12d 19h 58m 21s
2. Groupama Sailing Team - 012d 21h 45m 24s
3. CAMPER with Emirates Team NZ - 012d 23h 28m 23s

4. PUMA Ocean Racing by BERG - 013d 00h 29m 12s
5. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing - 013d 03h 05m 05s
6. Team Sanya - 014d 04h 35m 16s

Official website http://www.volvooceanrace.com/

Artemis AC45 training in Valencia

Artemis Racing have started their two boat training session in Valencia, Spain this week. Artemis now have two AC45's and are sure to benefit from their latest edition.


We like this work by team photographer Sander van der Borch.

Photo credit: Sander van der Borch / Artemis Racing

Photo credit: Sander van der Borch / Artemis Racing

www.artemisracing.com

VOR Game Leg 3 - Day 13

Tough times in the Malakka Strait with extremely flukey conditions. I'm going to stick to the west coast at the moment and hope that with the next weather update the winds move into the north. This is also the closest angle to the next mark. Currently sailing at 135 TWA in 5.50knts of wind. I don't think the polars on the wiki are correct!

2012 MOD70 European Tour unveiled

The MOD70 European Tour has been announced today and is set to be a huge hit on the European stage. Let's hope they have a media team to take up the challenge of creating some fantastic online content as we have  seen with the America's Cup World Series and Volvo Ocean Race.


Read the full press announcement here.


Official website http://www.multionedesign.com/en/

TP52 Class Announces 2012 Racing Circuit

KEY WEST, FL—Following a series of meetings held during Quantum Key West Race Week, members of the TP52 class are pleased to announce its plans for grand prix racing in 2012 and beyond.

Rob Weiland, TP52 Class Manager, says the class is forming a management group owned and controlled by members that will be responsible for event management, event marketing, sponsor and media coordination as well as recruiting new teams to join 52 racing.

“There is strong support and enthusiasm for this structure, not only among owners, but also potential sponsors who have been part of the discussions. TP52 racing will continue in 2012 and beyond at the same high-caliber level as in previous years,” says Weiland. “With class ownership and control, we expect to establish a strong, stable racing program that will continue to expand and excel.”

This year, the class will be racing in a circuit with consistent race management including on-the-water umpiring. The circuit winner will be the best-performing boat in five qualifying events. The regatta schedule will include:

- Palma Vela, Palma, April 18 – 22 (tune up event)
- Trofeo Conde de Godo, Barcelona, May 23 - 27
- Sardinia Cup, Porto Cervo, June 11 - 17
- Royal Cup, Palma, July 10 - 14
- Copa del Rey, Palma, July 16-21 (does not count toward trophy)
- France Cup or One Ton Cup, TBD in France, September 18 – 22
- Valencia Cup, Valencia, October 9-13

Weiland says IRC 52 and Soto 40 teams are invited to join in the racing. “We’d like to increase the participation, which not only makes for more exciting competition, but will also provide a chance to race for the Sardinia Cup, a team event with two-boat teams consisting of a 52 and a Soto 40.

For all events except the Copa del Rey, the 52s—whether a TP52 or IRC52—will race boat-for-boat. “The  IRC52s will have to be within a TCC limit for this,” says Weiland. “That limit is set slightly above the TCC that a TP52 has in order to accommodate features such as carbon rigging, which under IRC carry a rating ‘penalty’.

“Just as we are experiencing at Quantum Key West Race Week, this will provide close and exciting racing,” adds Weiland. “Level rating, as such, is not a novelty, but the mix of level raters and box rule 52s is unique. For sure there is a lot to learn; we will start with an open mind and very few limits.”

At Copa del Rey, Weiland says the 52s will race under IRC. “That suits the event organization better and maximizes the number of boats on the start line. We hope to see well over ten teams competing in Palma.”

Weiland says the class will begin working with the clubs involved in the 2012 program immediately, while the organizational details are finalized for the management group. The 2013 calendar will be announced no later than August 2012. Plans for next year tentatively call for a return to the Americas early in the season.

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing retire from Leg 1

Due to the light conditions in the Med, Abu Dhabi Racing have retired from Leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean Race. This must have been a really difficult decision for the team to make but understandable given the current conditions and ETA to Cape Town. 


Here is the official press release.

VOR Game - Leg 1, Day 6

Day 6 of the VOR Game it's been a struggle to get south in the early part of this leg. Those that were on the ball at the start and continually navigate their way out of the Mediterranean have done the best and are almost 800nm in front of us! The leaders are just east of the Cape Verde Islands whilst the Sailing Scoop struggles back at the Canary Islands.


Recently we have made our way west in an effort to meet up with the next weather system making it's way across the Atlantic and finally today it is starting to pay off. Hopefully we can claim some miles back on the leaders.


Become our friend or add us to your watchlist, just search for thesailingscoop within the game.

Congrats Bora

photo credit: nige's blog



Congratulations to Bora Gulari the new Moth World Champion! Bora nailed the last 3 races 1,1,1 to totally annihilate the opposition.

Our own past moth world champions Nathan Outteridge finished 2nd and Rohan Veal 6th.