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Sail Auckland ended today in light winds. The week-long leader of the RS:X-male windsurfers had a disaster day, as with a premature start and an 8th place, he dropped on rank 3 behind the winner Tae Hoon Lee KOR and the close second-ranked World Champion Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED coming back strongly with two race wins on the last day. The clear winner in the RS:X-women was Jessica Crisp AUS. Winner in the Lasers Standard is Andrew Murdoch NZL, with a clear advantage over Jee Min Ha KOR. Rutger Van Schaardenburg NED is on the 3rd place. Sarah Winter NZL dominated her male opponents in the Lasers Radial. With 9 wins in 9 races, Matt Coutts NZL was a class of his own in the Finns. In the 470 Open, it was the New Zealand Olympia team Paul Snow-Hansen/Jason Saunders NZL winning ahead of Jo Aleh/Olivia Powrie NZL. As second-best female team, the Olympic Champions Elise Rechichi/Belinda Stowell AUS follow on rank 6. Due to the limited participation, the 29er and 49er regattas ended as 'match races' with Blair/Tuke NZL as first in the 49ers and Rippey/Munro NZL winning in the 29ers. All other ranking lists and the report.

With an eye on the forthcoming ISAF decision on Kite- or Windsurfing, NeilPryde Windsurfing announced sponsorship of a prize fund of US$ 45,000 to be awarded to the top 10 men and top 10 women in the final results of the 2012 RS:X World Windsurfing Championships which will take place between March 20th and 29th 2012 in Cadiz, Spain. This is to ensure that prize money becomes the norm at major Olympic Windsurfing events in the future, supporting the mostly professional athletes attending.
With nine Olympic qualification places still to be allocated, the 2012 RS:X World Windsurfing Championships represents the last chance for nations to qualify for the London 2012 Olympic sailing regatta. The report.

With 35 kn, the breeze was indeed somewhat less strong, but the frontal system passing brought considerable windshifts producing cross seas that were hardly sailable. The South-African 'Pheseya Racing' on the last position preferred to weather the difficult conditions and to resume the race only 12 hours later. The leaders Coleman/Kuttel NZL/RSA are now approaching the first Scoring Gate, that they will pass tomorrow. Their advantage on Nannini ITA/Ramos ESP is 86 miles. The race-viewer and the daily report.

After the trials for the new Olympic events Women's Skiff and Mixed Multihull of early March, the selection of Kite- or Windsurfing with its appropriate equipment will take place in Santandér too from March 21 to 25. On this occasion, various race formats - from short track to slalom and course racing - will be tested as well. The preview of ISAF.

The Transquadra fleet is trailing in the middle of the Atlantic search the normally prevailing trade winds, but instead they encounter lull zones interrupted by light thunder storms. Except some 'extremists' North and South, the 26 Solo-skippers and the 70 two-person teams stay closely together. Only the leading Hervé Chanu FRA/Christoph Péclard SUI extended their advantage on 40 miles and will probably be the first to reach the trade winds. In the Solo-skippers, Alexandre Peraud FRA stays 30 miles ahead, but sailing on the most northern course, he is slower than Jean-François Hamon FRA in the extreme South, who, as man of the day yesterday, will probably soon take the lead. The race-viewer and the report of the day.

Mostly windy conditions in Auckland where already 9 races have been sailed within three days. Richard Stauffacher SUI continued with a strong performance in the RS:X-men leading now ahead of Tae Hoon Lee KOR, best of the day, who overtook the World Champion Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED on rank 2. Also clearly leading in the Lasers Standard is Andrew Murdoch NZL, followed by Jee Min Ha KOR and Rutger Van Schaardenburg NED. All results and the report.

Silja Lehtinen FIN is the winner of the Women's Match Racing Country Qualification Regatta of Key Biscayne, clearly defeating Tamara Echegoyen ESP with a 3-0 score. Both teams were already qualified for the Olympics 2012 after the semi finals, The fight for the third available place was in the petite final for rank 3 with Lotte Meldgaard DEN as 3-2 winner over Martina Silva ARG in a close duel. The report with results.

Two races yesterday completed the Laser Radial North American Championship with Paige Railey USA as dominating winner (4 race wins and 3 second ranks in 8 races). Erika Reineke USA and Maiken Schutt DEN finished on the ranks 2 and 3l. The final rankings.

The past World Champion Jonas Hoegh-Christensen DEN added two more bullets to his results sheet on the last day of the NorAM Finn Championship and finished the event clearly on top of the rankings with an 8 points advance over Brendan Casey AUS and Martin Robitaille CAN as 2nd and 3rd. Zach Railey USA did not compete. The final rankings.

Despite of arriving last at their home port Sanya CHN, 'Team Sanya' was much applauded by the numerous Chinese spectators yesterday. The report. Clear leader in the overall rankings is 'Telefonica' (Iker Martinez ESP) finishing all three legs on place 1 with a 15 points' lead on 'Camper' (Chris Nicholson NZL) and another 9 points on 'Groupama' (Franck Cammas FRA). 'Puma' with Ken Read USA on 4th has at least the 24 hours record of 355 miles sailed during the just ending leg. The report, and the videos of leg 3.

Five races were sailed up to now at the 1st International Multihull Festival off Pattaya THA in summery conditions. Carolijn Brouwer/Brett Goodall BEL defended the first place with their 'small' Viper 16 in the 'White Division', but Xander & Marc Pols NED reduced the gap to the leaders with their Nacra 20 to one point. New on rank three are Guillaume Laberenne/Jean-Richard Minardi SUI. 35 teams participate. Damronsak & Kitsada Yongtim THA are the leaders in the 'Yellow Division', the smaller cats. The results and the event-website.

After the abandonments of the two leading yachts remain three two-person teams on their Class 40s fighting upwind in the Roaring Forties direction Cape Horn in a very challenging breeze of up to 50 kn. Colman/Kuttel NZL/RSA were the leaders yesterday evening 93 miles ahead of the runner-up. But the yacht still have a few more days in these conditions before rounding the most southern point of the Americas. The race-viewer and the report.

After 9 days underway in the middle of the Atlantic, the Transquadra fleets of 26 Solo-sailors and 71 two person teams have lost speed in the now prevailing lighter winds. Hervé Chanu FRA/Christophe Péclard SUI on their Archambaud 35 further extended their lead now on 33 miles. Alexandre Peraud FRA, leader in the solo-sailer category, has also extended the advance on over 30 miles. The race-viewer and the report of the day.

The Sail Auckland Regatta continued today with three races by class. The leaders in the two fleets with good international participation, Richard Stauffacher SUI RS:X-windsurfers and Andrew Murdoch NZL Lasers Standard, defended their first positions. Stauffacher SUI succeeded also on the second day to stay ahead of the World Champion Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED, and the two have now an advantage of 9, respectively 7 points on the 3rd Tae Hoon Lee KOR. New Zealand sailors dominate in the Lasers with Andy Maloney NZL behind Murdoch on rank 2. Jee Min Ha KOR is 3rd. The New Zealand Olympic squad member Sarah Winter NZL is the clear leader in the Lasers Radial. All rankings and the report.

Today around noon, 'Team Sanya' will reach its home port as last of the Volvo Ocean Race fleet. Skippering the only VOR 70 already in use in the previous edition of the Race, Mike Sanderson NZL and his team had no chance on the long upwind courses during leg 3 against the yachts of the latest generation 3. Ranks. Ranks 3 to 5 went to 'Camper', 'Puma' and 'Abu Dhabi'. 'Telefonica' winning all legs so far ist the clear leader extending her position overall. The Sanya Inport Race will be started on February 18, followed by the start to the 4th leg to Auckland NZL on February 19. The event-website.

The favorites Silija Lehtinen FIN, Tamara Echegoyen ESP and Lotte Meldgaard DEN as well as the surprising Martina Silva ARG qualified for the semi finals in fresh 20 kn wind conditions in the double Round Robin yesterday. And the Argentinian team continued with a strong performance, challenging the top favorite Silija Lehtinen FIN over five matches in the semis, loosing finally 3-2. In the second semi final, Tamara Echegoyen ESP defeated Lotte Meldgaard DEN 3-1. Finland and Spain are therefore qualified for the Olympic regatta 2012 in London/Weymouth, and meet today for the final win at this qualification event. For once, the suspense is in the petite final, where Meldgaard DEN and Silva ARG fight for the third and last Olympic berth. The Danish team held twice the upper hand in the Rounds Robin. The results of the double Round Robin and the semi finals. The finals can be followed live this afternoon UCT. Thedaily report.

The Laser Radial North American Championship continued yesterday with three more races sailed in a fresh 20 kn breeze and big waves. Paige Railey USA, already qualified for the USSTAG Olympic Squad, defended her first position despite of a premature start. But as best of the day, the developement team sailor Erika Reineke USA, winning two races, is now only four points behind the multiple champion. The results.

The experienced Finn sailors took the command in the fresh breeze of day two with the past World Champion Jonas Hoegh-Christensen DEN taking the lead with the day ranks 2/1/2, three points ahead of the tied duo Brendan Casey AUS and Martin Robitaille CAN. The results.

The severe frontal system with headwinds of over 50 kn has passed by in the mean-time, and the leading duo Colman/Kuttel NZL/RSA even enjoyed some sun in light winds on the 48th parallel. The two other teams remaining in the race, Marco Nannini/Hugo Ramon ITA/ESP and Nick Leggatt/Phillippa Hutton-Squire RSA, could reduce their backlog by some miles. The report with an impressive narration of the past stormy days.

The perfect conditions remained on the second day of the Charlotte Harbour Regatta. Beside the multihulls who already sailed 9 races within two days, it was the dinghy classes Flying Scot, Sunfish who started racing yesterday with three races sailed. No report is available yet, the full results you find below in yesterdays report.

26 Solo-skippers and 71 two person teams on their series yachts have been underway direction Martinique for one week now. The leading French-Swiss duo Hervé Chanu FRA/Christophe Péclard SUI extended its advantage yesterday on over 30 miles. The new leader in the Solo-skippers is Alexandre Perault FRA, who circumvented the whole fleet on an extreme northerly course. The race-viewer and the event-website.

This morning at 3 h UCT, 'Telefonica' with Iker Martinez ESP crossed the finish line of leg 3, sailed in two parts from Abu Dhabi to Male, and from Male to Sanya, as first, having now won all three legs of the Volvo Ocean Race so far. 'Groupama' with Franck Cammas FRA as second is expected around 6 a.m. The race for rank 3 between 'Camper' and 'Puma', separated by 14 miles only 100 miles before the arrival, is still open. The report and the videos.

Three races were completed this morning UCT on day one of the 'Sail Auckland' Olympic and Youth Classes event, where Olympic dinghies, 420s and 29ers, as well as the Paralympic 2.4mR, Skud-18, Access and Liberty are on the entry lists, mostly with a majority of teams coming from New Zealand. Good international participation is in the Lasers and the RS:X-Windsurfers. In the RS:X-men, Richard Stauffacher SUI leads in front of the World Champion Dorian Van Rijsselberge NED and Zach Plavsic CAN on 4th, in the Lasers Standard, Andrew Murdoch NZL was the winner of all three race. On rank 2 and 3 overall are Andy Malone NZL and Jee Min Ha KOR. Sarah Winter NZL is on top of the Lasers Radial. All results and the event-website and the report.

The teams ranked 1 - 6 after the first Round Robin qualified yesterday for the next elimination, a Double Round Robin, to select the four semi-finalists. As evident already yesterday, Silja Lehtinen FIN 8-0 is on a solid path to the semis in today's duels with Tamara Echegoyen ESP, Silke Hahlbrock GER, Dekleva Paoli SLO 5-3 each, as well as Martina Silva ARG and Lotte Meldgaard DEN 4-4 each. The results. There is a live coverage available.

In spite of the wintery weather - the Côte d'Azur was covered by snow during last night making it a 'White Coast' -, the Primo Cup I in Monaco is attended by good fleets in most of the classes. Sun and a 10 kn breeze with gusts up to 18 kn prevailed yesterday, and three races by class were sailed. Jens Ahlgrimm GER is on rank one in the Platu 25, having won all three heats. Anatoly Loginov RUS has taken the lead in the Dragons. Ian Ilsley MON and his team are on top of the J/24 and Filippo Orlando/Olivier Terrol MON are the leaders in the Starboats. Once more the largest fleet, the Surprise class (23 teams), is dominated by the Swiss. Arnaud Psarophagis SUI and his team are one point ahead of Gastone Farolfi SUI 2nd and Jerôme Clerc SUI 3rd. All ranking lists and the report (f).

The North American Laser Radial Championships began yesterday with three races. Paige Railey USA holds already a strong lead with the day ranks 2/1/1 followed by Erika Reineke USA and Sarah Lihan USA. 29 entrants on the starting list. The results.

Heavy snowfalls in Sweden impacted the organisation of the European Championship excessively. After the bad luck with the World Championship - Tomasz Zakrszewski winning after only three heats due to lack of wind (we reported yesterday) -, the continental championship had even to be cancelled, as there is too much snow on the ice surface of the Swedish lakes. The short report.

The Finns sail their North American Championship at the same venue and time as the Lasers Radial in Fort Lauderdale. Martin Robitaille CAN and Greg Douglas CAN are good for a Canadian double lead ahead of Brendan Casey AUS on rank 3. Jonas Hoegh-Christensen DEN, the only European in the 15 boats' Finn fleet is on position 15. The results.

After Ross and Campbell Field NZL, forced to abandon yesterday with a damaged rig and loss of the automatic pilot, the then second-ranked Halvard Mabire FRA/Miranda Merron GBR have also decided to retire from the third leg and are heading back to New Zealand. The extraordinary weather conditions with a 50 kn easterly headwind probably force the teams to sail in extreme hard conditions upwind in a rough sea until the Cape Horn. Carefully evaluating this situation, the French-British duo decided to abandon for rational seamanship grounds. Colman NZL/Kuttel RSA remain now lonely on top on the way to the Cape Horn. The report.

The multihull classes yesterday made the opening of the 2012 Charlotte Harbour regatta with four races sailed in moderate conditions. Annie Gardner/ Eric Witte won three of four races to take a commanding lead Friday in the F16 while John Casey jumped out to a lead in the F18 class with a pair of wins and two seconds, as did Wally Myers in the Hobie 16 class. Nelson Wright and John Sherry each notched two wins in the Hobie Wave class, but Wright’s pair of seconds gave him a three-point lead going into Day Two. In the Weta class, Dick Stephens led the way over Keith Rice, with three wins in four races. See the www.regattatech.com/events/CHR/CharlotteHarbor12/scoring/showResultsRoster]complete results[/url] and read the full report. Today the Sunfish, Precision 15s and Flying Scots joining the action on a second race circle.

Yesterday, sailing in a rear wind around 20 kn, Hervé Cahnu FRA/Christophe Péclard SUI with their 'ThinkAnalytic' took the lead in the 71 boats' two-person fleet, but their advance on Pintos/Lemière ESP/FRA is only 0.7 miles. Leader change also with the 26 solo skippers, where Alexandre Peraud FRA has already a 17 miles' lead. The race-viewer. Back in the fleet, the Italian 'Cymba' team had to be rescued by some other competitors when their yacht began to sink after a collision with an unknown floating object. The report and the event-website.

The DN Ice Sailing World Championship was decided yesterday after three heats. The new World Champion is Tomasz Zakrzsewski POL, Silver and Bronze go to Karl-Hannes Tagu EST and Hans Ebler GER. Ron Sherry USA flopped the first race and finished 5th at the end. The multiple World Champion and America's Cup helmsman Karol Jablonski POL is only 42nd. 185 participants. The results.
Today begins the European Championship at the new venue Multorp SWE.

The 470 Junior World Championships at Takapuna NZL ended a few minutes ago with the Medal Races. Simon Sivitz/Jas Farneti ITA had their first place secured already after the 10 fleetraces, ahead of Turner/Drummond NZL. The suspense was on rank 3 where finally Pelisson/Rossi FRA were successful winning Bronze. The the top-10 results 470 men and the results ranks 11-21 after the sail-off race.
The new 470 female Junior World Champions are Afrodite Kyranakou/Jeske Kisters NED, but winning the Medal Race, Annika Bochmann/Elisabeth Pansuchka GER finished only three points behind. The Bronze Medal went to Anna Burnet/Flora Stewart GBR. The 470 women final rankings.
The event-website will be updated with the final report and images during this morning UCT.

The leader 'Telefonica' had 320 miles left to the Chinese holiday island Sanya this morning after another 24 hours' upwind sailing in a 25 kn breeze with a steep 3 m wave. In the final approach to the finish, the wind will somewhat diminish, and the gaps between the boats will shrink again. Nothing is decided yet for 'Telefonica' (Iker Martinez ESP) 23 miles in front of 'Groupama' (Franck Cammas FRA). 'Camper' (Chris Nicholson NZL), 'Puma' (Ken Read USA) and 'Abu Dhabi' (Ian WalkerGBR) follow within 50 miles from the Spanish. The estimatied time of arrival is tomorrow Saturday by noon. The race-viewer, the reports and the videos.

Two third of the Round Robin was completed yesterday on day one of the Olympic Qualification Regatta at Key Biscayne, where the last three berths for the 2012 Olympics are at stake. Qualified for the semi finals is already Silja Lehtinen FIN with a 5-0 score, and good chance to advance further have Tamara Echegoyen ESP and Vesna Dekleva SLO with 4-1 each. The results and the event-website.

The Roaring Forties took a toll in wind-speeds around 45-50 kn: After crashing off a monstrous wave in the Southern Ocean, Global Ocean Race leaders Ross and Campbell Field have suffered damage to their yacht and are heading back to New Zealand. Crashing down into the trough behind the wave, all the wind instruments were wiped off the top of the mast. Ross Field was flung across the boat, injuring his back. The loss of the wind instruments is a major blow, because it means their autopilots cannot function. The boat instantly spun out of control and crash gybed. To carry on with Leg 3 of the race would have meant hand-steering the boat nearly 6,000 miles through some of the most hostile conditions on the planet, round Cape Horn and up to Uruguay. A report in Sail World and the event-website.

The six members of the 2012 U.S. Paralympic Team – Sailing were selected based on performances at US Sailing’s 2012 Rolex Miami OCR, held Jan. 23-28, 2012, in Miami, Fla., and the IFDS Worlds held two weeks earlier in Port Charlotte, Fla. As the top-scoring eligible American athletes in their respective Paralympic sailing classes, Jen French and JP Creignou (Skud-18), Mark LeBlanc (2.4mR) and Paul Callahan, Tom Brown and Bradley Johnson (Sonar) have successfully completed qualification. Read the full report including a video interview.

Today begins the first round of the Monaco Primo-Cup, traditionally an early spring event in the mild climate of the Côte d'Azur, but for once, it is quite different. The temperatures are around the freezing point and in the past days, snow flakes came down at sea-level. The pictures. Light winds will probably prevail, but on Saturday, snow has been forecast again. The event-website without entry lists for the moment. Question mark: 'Who will show up ?',

After 6 days underway direction Martinique, the fleet is about to be stretched more and more. Leader in the 28 boats' solo skipper fleet remains Philippe Vicariot FRA, but the first place in the two-person teams goes now to Jesus Pino/Grégoire Le Maire ESP/FRA. Team of the day were Hervé Cahnu FRA/Christophe Péclard SUI advancing on rank 4 only 10 miles behind the leaders. The Race-Viewer und die event-website.

Simon Sivitz/Jas Farneti ITA are the new 470 Junior World Champions, as today's races have been cancelled due to lack of wind, and their advantage on the second-ranked of 22 points cannot be compensated in tomorrow's Medal Race. With 8 wins in 10 races, their victory is really outstanding. The Silver medal is pratically already in the hands of James Turner/Finn Drummond NZL, as their 17 points lead over the 3rd Dirk Bennen/Rogier Weijers NED is a comfortable cushion. The race for the Bronze medal however is open, as Crawford/Crawford AUS, Masilge/Klingenberger GER and Rossi/Pelisson FRA follow closely behind.
The advantage of the 470 Women's fleet leaders Kyranakou/Kisters NED on the second Bochmann/Panuschka GER is 7 points. The results and the event-website with yesterday's report and video. The no-race-video of todav has already been posted.

Meanwhile, the northerly breeze on the South Chinese Sea has increased to 25 kn, somewhat less than previously announced. The leading 'Telefonica' (Iker Martinez ESP) and 10 miles behind also 'Groupama' (Franck Cammas FRA), still sailing on an upwind leg, have reached the Vietnam coast. 'Puma' (Ken Rad USA), 100 miles behind, has been the only ones to go for an attack, trying a premature easterly course. Less current and a 30°-windshift to the East could pay off and bring the Americans closer to the leaders. There remain 500 miles, or roughly two days, to go the the port of destination. The race-viewer, the Berichte and the videos.

After two days' waiting for wind, the first races were finally sailed yesterday. The 185 sleds from 18 nations are split into four fleets. The B, C and D fleets completed one heat each yesterday, whereas the A-fleet - the fleet racing for the DN World and European title - has no race in the books. Favorites for the titles are Ron Sherry USA and Karol Jablonski POL. Winner in the B-Fleet yesterday was Dag Lindström SWE followed by Martin Aljaste ... and Michael Obermaier GER. The US Ice-Boaters Hal Bowman, Jeffrey Kent and Eben Whitcomb are on the ranks 38, 39 and 42. The results and the official short report.

Today, the Women Match Race teams begin the their second Olympic nation berth qualification event where the three remaining slots for the 2012 Olympics are at stake. Eight nations have the tickets based on the results of the ISAF 2011 ISAF World Championship in Perth of December. Among the 9 teams competing for a selection on the Key Biscayne waters is Silija Lehtinen FIN, who - after a successful season - surprisingly is not yet qualified. Others with good chances for a place are Tamara Echegoyen ESP and Lotte Meldgaard-Pedersen DEN. The preview with the entry list.

ISAF has published the list of boats applying for an Olympic status for the new events Women's Skiff and Mixed Mulithull yesterday, In early March, the trials will be run off Santandér at the Northern Coast of Spain. Whilst the entry list of the catamarans contains classes sailed in a number of nations world-wide (Hobie 16, Hobie Tiger, Viper, Nacra 16 & 17 and the Tornado, the only 18 foot multi), the Women's Skiff has to be invented first. (Didn't the IOC charter speak of sports actively practiced in x-number of nations??). The classes applying are hardly known and the most cited candidate, the 29erXX, never succeeded to have more than a handful of boats on the starting lines during the past four years. The RS 800 has been modified to fit into the ISAF requirements. The ISAF report with the complete list of candidates.

The New Zealand father/son duo Ross & Campbell Field NZL regained the lead after having chosen a more Southern route. They sail actually on the 48th parallel, in an atypical upwind course direction Cape Horn. The first three yachts are still closely together with Colman NZL/Kuttel RSA 8 miles and Mabire FRA/Merron GBR 22 miles behind. The report.

Some changes happened in the top ranks of the ISAF World Ranking Lists after the Miami Worldcup event. Delle-Karth/Resch AUT are back on the first place of the 49ers, as are also Blanca Manchon ESP in the RS:X women windsurfers and Tara Pacheco/Berta Betanzos ESP in the 470 women. The ISAF report and all ranking lists.

Races 9 and 10 were sailed today in Takapuna in a moderate breeze from the shore, with Sivitz/Farneti ITA confirming their superiority finishing 1 and 6. Turner/Drummond NZL remain the runner-up. But for the first time, another team - Dirk Bennen/Rogier Weijers NED - booked the best ranks of the day with a 1st and 3rd place, that brought them on the 3rd position overall.
The same consistency as the Italians demonstrate Afrodite Kyranakou/Jeske Kisters NED in the women's fleet, finishing in nine of ten races in the ranks 1 or 2. Their advantage over Annika Bochmann/Elisbeth Panuschka GER is now 7 points.
The results and the event-website with videos and reports.

Yesterday on their way North, the fleet passed the Indonesian Natuna Islands - 272 individual isles - in a light breeze. The leading duo 'Telefonica' (Iker Martinez ESP) and 'Groupama' (Franck Cammas FRA), sailing within a 4 miles distance, have now left their opponents clearly behind. 'Puma' (Ken Read USA) is already 58 miles back. The Northern Monsoon winds are now freshening up more and more, and the rough part of leg three is awaiting the teams soon. The leading duo is 790 miles from the Sanya Island CHN or approximately 2 days and a half. The race-viewer, the reports and the videos.

The second day without wind at the DN-Worlds and Europeans in Sweden, and the over 200 participants from 18 nations had to be patient another 24 hours. But the wind forecast for today seems more favorable, and hopefully, the DN-sleds will be activated. A short report and the Internaional DN Class website.

In early January, we reported on the 400 miles journey of Yvan Bourgnon SUI and Sébastien Roubinet FRA around Cape Horn. On their tiny 6 meter Nacra 20 catamaran, they sailed passing glaciers and rocks in a breeze of up to 50 kn that even forced them to seek the shelter of an island for a moment. The 5-minute video transmits an impression on this incredible tour. The next project of the Swiss offshore sailor is a nonstop solo round-the-globe premiere on a trimaran 'in the wrong direction' from East to West.

A depression with 40-50 kn winds is approaching the fleet from the East making the direct course to the Cape Horn difficult. The first boats with the leading Ross and Campbell Field NZL as initiators have now gibed southwards to avoid the big blast. This move has cost them the lead for the moment, and Mabire FRA/Merron GBR are momentarily on rank 1. The event-website.

After 4 days racing, high pressure cell with little to no wind has spread the 71 two-person teams and the 28 solo sailors over a large area. Some try to circumvent the lulls going South, other stick to the direct route hoping for a breeze filling in soon again. Jean-Louis Goblet/Catherine Adam FRA in the doubles and Philippe Vicariot FRA with the solo sailors are the interims liaders. The Swiss teams occupy the ranks 15 (Chanu/Péclard FRA/SUI), 45 (Buntschu/Racenet SUI) and 59 (Guillet/Riond SUI). The race-viewer and the report of the day.

Three race days are still ahead, but the decision for the title seems to be more than obvious. Whatever the conditions are: Simon Sivitz/Jas Farneti ITA dominate the fleet in an outstanding way, having won 7 of the 8 races sailed so far. Taylor/Drummond NZL and Crawford/Crawford AUS remain on the ranks 2 and 3, but Pelisson/Rossi FRA are coming from behind and are now already on the 4th position.
In the 470 Girls, Afrodite Kyranakou/Jeske Kisters NED are still on the first place with Annika Bochmann/Elisabeth Panuschka GER now on the 2nd rank after a race win yesterday.
The results and the daily report of yesterday, to be updated today aroung 9 a.m. UCT. In addition, a video of the third race day is available.

Yesterday, the fleet passed Singapore and is now in the South Chinese Sea. Roughly five days on an upwind course in a freshening monsoon breeze are ahead of the teams before the port of call on the holiday island Sanya is reached, and especially in the final approach, in a 30 kn wind and rough waves, will be extremely challenging.
'Groupama' with Franck Cammas FRA is the leader this morning already heading North. 'Puma' (Ken Read USA) on rank 2 is 4.1 miles, 'Telefonica' as third 5 miles behind 'Groupama'. The race-viewer, the reports and the videos.

Sun and -10°C temperatures, but no wind, awaited the DN-sailors yesterday at the World- and European Championships on Lake Hjälmaren. The wind forecast is not any better today and most probably, the first races will be started on Wednesday only. The Swedish television covered the event with a first film report with a.o. an interview with the multiple World Champion Ron Sherry USA, one of the favorites for the title, as is also the America's Cup helmsman Karol Jablonski POL. A short report.

Three of the regattas counting for the Australian 18-foot-Skiff Championship, sailed over past weekends, suffered under rather light winds. On the last Sunday however, the breeze was there for the last event, and the smaller rigs were in use for the first time. Winning this race, 'Thurlow, Fisher Laywers' with Michael Coxon/Aaron Links/Trent Barnabas AUS took the title and are now the declared favorites for the JJ Giltinan-Trophy, the inofficial 18-footer World Championship, beginning on February 16th. The report and the video.

A video of 15 minutes summarizes the Optimist World Championship completed in early January in New Zealand. Sailed mostly in moderate condition, the event was dominated by Singapore sailor winning the individual title with Kimberly Lim SIN as well as the team race title. The video.

Last Sunday, the five two-person teams remaining in the Global Ocean Race started for leg 3, leading from Wellington NZL around Cape Horn to Punta del Este URU. The race began in a spectacular way with a 30 kn breeze prevailing, and the leading trio Mabire/Merron FRA/GBR, Field/Field NZL and Conrad Colman NZL, now sailing with Adrian Kuttel RSA, has already some advance on the elder generation Class 40s. After several position changes, it was Ross and Campbell Field NZL taking a 2 miles' lead this morning at 2 hours UCT. The race-viewer, the reports and the video of the start.

The 65 mile Sugarloaf Race takes the fleet from San Diego around Coronado Island to the Sugarloaf Rock and back. Among the winners in the five PHRF divisons was Dennis Conner on his 'Menace' who topped the PHRF 3 division. See all results.

The Bucaneer Blast, part of the Mark Sorensen Youth Sailing Programm, was held last weekend in the Upper Keys Sailing Club. Six races were sailed, Shawn Hardy topped the 42-boat fleet in the Optimist while Hudson Jenkins won the Opti Green Group fleet. In the Laser Radial Jack Gower won on countback ahead of Courtney Purcell. See the complete results.

The 70 two-person teams and the 29 solo-sailors participating in the Transatlantic Race for Corinthian sailor over age 40 advance in good sailing condition direction West. Leader with the solo sailors is Philippe Vicariot FRA, in the doubles, the team Jean-Louis Goblet/Catherine Adam FRA is on top.
The positions,the reports and the video of the start.

The South Atlantic Yacht Racing Association Inter-Club Challenge was held Sunday in Calibogue Sound Sunday afternoon. The racing group held its annual meeting this weekend on Hilton Head Island and the South Carolina Yacht Club at Windmill Harbour hosted the race to wrap up the event. After three races sailed it was the Atlanta YC with Bryce Darden winning followed by the South Carolina YC and the Charlston Ocean Racing Association. See the complete results.

In the Long Distance Bay Race last saturday participants sailed from Lake Canyon YC around the lake, rounding buoys set in various bays. Given the drop in lake level, the race committee had to take care to place buoys in navigable water. The winners are Chris Powers (Flying Scot), Bruce Dunn (PHRF A) and Lynn Simpson (PHRF B). See the complete results.

A light seabreeze around 5 kn prevailed today, replacing the fresh winds of the previous days, but nevertheless, the clear winners of both races were again Simon Sivitz/Jas Farneti ITA. Their advantage over Turner/Drummond NZL and Crawford/Crawford AUS on the ranks 2 and 3 is now already 15 points. Kyranakou/Keisters NED (today with ranks 1 and 2) remain on top of the women's rankings, followed by Burnett/Stewart GBR new on 2nd and Bochmann/Panuschka GER 3rd. The results and the report of yesterday.

The Malacca Strait is as difficult as expected: Light and unconstant winds, an extreme ship traffic (sometimes with as many as 50 signals on the radar screen), part of them unlighted fisherman's boats as well as loads of thrash (see report) demand the highest attention of the sailors. 'Puma' hit a tree and took a chunk out of their dagger board.
'Telefonica' (Iker Martinez ESP) and 1,5 miles behind 'Groupama' (Franck Cammas FRA) have now a slight advantage on the third-ranked 'Puma' 17,5 miles back. Today, the first five teams will pass Singapore and divert North on the Chinese Sea. 'Team Sanya' (Mike Sanderson NZL), 150 miles behind 'Telefonica', will spend a day more sailing in the Malacca Strait. The race-viewer, the reports and the videos.

The Opening Ceremony and first trainings took place yesterday on Lake Hjämaren near Oerebro SWE, where the DN World- and European Championships are taking place. With only 0.5 cm of snow and moderate winds around 12 kn, the conditions are good. Over 200 participants from 18 nations will start to the first qualificartion races today. Unfortunately, the entry list is not yet available. Here the official report and the website of the British Team.

The Medal Races yesterday took place in light and fickle winds, and while the winners in most classes were practically known before the race, most of the remaining podium places were still contested.
Matthew Belcher/Malcom Page AUS were the superior winners in the 470-men in front of Coster/Coster NED and Kampouridis/Papadopoulos GRE. The victory of Lisa Westerhof/Lobke Berkhout NED in the 470 women was also clear prematurely, with Mills/Clarke GBR and Weguelin/Ainsworth GBR taking Silver and Bronze. Given winners were also Delle-Karth/Resch AUT in the 49ers, and Storck/Moore USA had to content themselves with rank 2 despite of winning the Medal Race. Lehtinen/Bask FIN finished third. Zach Railey USA dominated the Finns during the whole event winning with a large advance on Jonas Hoegh-Nielsen DEN. Greg Douglas CAN jumped on rank 3 in the last race. The Starboat Medal Race was completely open, but the reigning World Champions Robert Scheidt/Bruno Prada BRA were once more unbeatable. The past World Champion Xavier Rohart FRA with Pierre-Alexis Ponsot FRA as crew won the last race and climbed on rank 2 overall just before Melleby/Pedersen NOR, while another World Champion, Lööf/Salminen SWE, dropped out of the medals on rank 4. The winner of the Women Match-Race was Lucy McGregor GBR defeating Olivia Price AUS 3-1. Sally Barkow USA took the Bronze medal. The RS:X windsurfing winners were also known in advance with Nick Dempsey GBR in the men and Demita Vega MEX in the women. The final report, all results and the videos.
The final rankings of the other North American Medal Race participants are 4th McNay/Biehl USA (470 men), 5th Clark/Lihan USA (470 women), 5th David Hayes CAN, 6th Robert Willis USA, 8th Federico Ortiz MEX and 10th Jean-Sébastion Fugère CAN (all RS:X men), 3rd Farrah Hall USA, 4th Dominique Vallée CAN, 7th Solvig Sayre USA, 8th Margot Samson USA, 9th Laurence Bonnau-Charland CAN and 10th Kathleen Tocke USA (all RS:X women), 7th Mendelblatt/Fatih USA, 8th Clarke/Tyler CAN and 10th Smith/Morey USA (all Starboats), 5th Paine USA, 6th Wilton CAN, 7th Robitaille CAN and 10th Lamphère USA (all Finns), 5th Cook/Lowden CAN, 7th Ladha/Inkpen CAN, 9th Gooderham/Hogan CAN (all 49ers) . Read the report of US Sailing.

Bruno Fontes BRA and Paul Goodison GBR started to the Medal Race with the same number of points, and it was finally the Olympic Champion Goodison GBR who secured the MOCR title with a second race rank. Bruno Fontes BRA is 2nd 6 points behind. David Wright CAN is 3rd, winning the Canadian Olympic selection with this result. Clay Johnson USA is 5th, Charlie Buckingham USA, winner of the Medal Race, is 7th and Chris Dold CAN 8th. The final results of the Lasers Standard.
No changes on the podium of the Lasers Radial where the former World Champion Lijia Xu CHN defeated the reigning World Champion Marit Bouwmeester NED and made it clear for everybody that she will be a hot contender for the Olympics. Evi Van Acker BEL finished 3rd. Tania Elias Calles MEX is on rank 7. The winner of the Medal Race Paige Railey USA moved finally up on rank 8 after a rather disappointing MOCR on her home waters.
The official final report and the videos.

Ongoing position changes happened in the unconstant conditions of the Strait of Malacca in the last 24 hours. In the night on Sunday, 'Telefonica' with Iker Martinez ESP has taken the first position six miles ahead of 'Groupama' (Franck Cammas FRA), while the New Zealand 'Camper' (Chris Nicholson NZL) failed with her attack along the coast and dropped on rank 4. The race-viewer, the videos and the daily report.

Today's two races are already completed, and the winners in both heats were Sivitz/Farneti ITA who are now clearly in the overall lead, ahead of Turner/Drummond NZL 2nd and Bennen/Wejers NED tied with Crawford/Crawford AUS 3rd.
Kyranakou/Kisters NED are on the first position of the separately published women's ranking list, but Bochmann/Panuschka GER, team of the day with two first ranks, are now only one point behind the leaders.
The ranking lists and the event-website, for the moment with the day one report only.

28 solo sailors and 61 two-person teams started yesterday off Madeira to the Transatlantic Race to Martinique FRA in the Carribeans, after having merged at the Portugues island coming from Lorient FRA or Barcelona ESP. 24 hours after the joint start to the second leg over the Atlantic, 'Expat' with Chanu/Péclard FRA/SUI is in the lead, but the gaps betwen the boats are still small. The race-viewer and the report on the start.

The qualifications ended yesterday with the last two races by class, sailed in a freshening 15 kn breeze. Today Saturday, the Medal Races are on the program with most of the teams in a clear pole position. Delle-Karth/Resch AUT in the 49ers with a 19 points lead on Storck/Moore USA will remain first with the Americans on a safe second place. Lehtinen/Bask FIN and Norregard/Lang DEN will fight for the Bronze Medal. Belcher/Page AUS, 10 points ahead of Coster/Coster NED, are also on the safe side, as are the Dutchmen as second, 12 points in front of Kampouridis/Papadopulos GRE 3rd. In the 470 women, Lisa Westerhof/Lobke Berkhout NED clearly lead 12 points ahead of Mills/Clark GBR, who will be challenged by Sesto/Montegur ARG and Clark/Lihan USA for the Bronze medal. The 10 points’ advance of Zach Railey USA on Jonas Hoegh-Christensen DEN should also be sufficient for the overall win. Tension is on once again in the Starboats (why should they be out of the Olympics in 2016?), where a bunch of former Olympic and Worlds Champions will fight for the medals. Scheidt/Prada BRA are 3 points ahead of Lööf/Salminen SWE, and Melleby/Pedersen NOR follow another 5 points back. The pairing in the Women Match Race is rather a surprise as Olivia Price AUS eliminated Sally Barkow USA in the Semis and will meet Lucy McGregor (3-2 vs Silja Lehtinen FIN) in the Final. The MOCR titles for the windsurfers are also practically decided, as Nick Dempsey GBR has an 18 points’ lead in the RS:X-men , while Demita Vega MEX is also 15 points ahead in the RS:X-women.
Other best-ranked athletes representing North American federations, with 17 teams qualified for Medal Race as well, were: 470 men, McNay/Biehl USA 5th and Ramsey/Leigh CAN 15th; 470 women Clark/Lihan USA 4th, Haeger/Provancha USA 9th, Archibald/Dexter CAN 13th; RS:X men David Hayes CAN 5th, Robert Willis USA 6th, Federico Ortiz MEX 7th and Jean-Sébstien Fugère CAN 10th; RS:X women Farrah Hall USA 2nd, Carolina Mendelblatt USA rank 3 replacing the best Canadian Dominique Vallée CAN now on position 6; Starboats Mendelblatt/Fatih USA 7th, Clarke/Tyler CAN 9th; Finn Greg Douglas CAN 5th; 49ers Cook/Lowden CAN 5th, best of the three CAN skiffs in the top-10, Murrieta Bros MEX 17th. And last but not least Anna Tunnicliffe USA who defeated Tamara Echegoyan ESP in the Women Match Race duel for rank 5.
The daily report and the videos

The fleetracing phase ended yesterday with two more races sailed in an intial 8 kn breeze, freshening up to 15 kn during the heats. Man of the day and the new overall leader in the Lasers Standard is again Bruno Fontes BRA, winning both regattas and joining Paul Goodison GBR on top with the same number of points. This duo will 'matchrace' for the final victory in today's Medal Race, as David Wright CAN on rank 3 is already 20 points back. Read the report by the 7th-ranked Clay Johnson USA. Chris Dold CAN 8th and Charlie Buckingham 9th will also sail the Medal Race.
Lijia Yu CHN will start to the Medal Race of the Lasers Radial with a 6 points' lead on Marit Bouwmeester NED. Evi Van Acker BEL on 3rd 13 points behind has the Bronze medal for sure. Tania Elias Calles MEX as 8th and Paige Railey USA 9th represent NorAm in the Medal Race.
The official report and the videos.

Nobody wanted to sail the Practice Race yesterday, and the kickoff to the 470 Junior Championship was given today with two races sailed in a 10 kn breeze. Matthew and Robert Crawford AUS, winners of the Pre-Worlds, are the overall leaders one point ahead of Sivitz/Farneti ITA and Turner/Drummond NZL. The winners of race one, Masilge/Klingenberger GER, follow on the 4th place. By far the best ladies team are Kyranakou/Kisters NED on rank 6. The results and the preview presented by the 470 class.

The Paralympic Classes terminated their MOCR Worldcup event with two races yesterday. As expected, the winner in the 2.4 mR is the World Champion Damien Séguin FRA 25 points in front of Paul Tingley CAN. Barend Kol NED moved up on rank 3. Mark Le Blanc USA is 8th. In the Skud-18, the podium is Daniel Fitzgibbon/Liesl Tresch AUS ahead of Alexandra Rickham/Niki Birell GBR and Jennifer French/Jean-Paul Creignou USA. John McRoberts/Stacie Louttit CAN are 4th. Hessels/van den Veen/Rossen NED took the overall win in the Sonars with the day ranks 1 and 2, leaving the teams of John Robertson GBR and Aleksander Wang-Hansen NOR behind. Doerr/Kendell/Freund USA are 5th, Millar/Campbell/Lutes CAN 7th. The official report and the videos.

Leader changes in a row with the closely sailing top four when entering the Strait of Malacca, the busiest waterway in the world, due to a very unconstant wind. This morning, 'Telefonica' with Iker Martinez ESP is again on top, 7 miles ahead of 'Puma' (Ken Read USA) and 16,7 miles of 'Camper' (Chris Nicholson NZL). 21 miles behind the Spanish is Franck Cammas FRA and his 'Groupama' joining in in the fight for the leader position. 500 miles, actually at a 12 kn average speed, have to be passed thru this Strait. The race-viewer, the daily report and the videos.

The MOCR comes in its final phase, as after yesterday's races 7 and 8, sailed in classic Miami conditions with a 10-12 kn breeze, the last heats of today will decide on the qualifications for the Medal Races of Saturday. Admittedly, the favorites are on the first places, but the gaps remain close in most of the classes, and racing will be exciting in the two days ahead. Belcher/Page AUS are still on top of the 470 men, but Coster/Coster NED are only 4 points behind. A mere point is the lead of Lisa Westerhof/Lobke Berkhout NED on Hannah Mills/Sakjia Clark GBR in the 470 women. The duel in the 49ers between Delle-Karth/Resch AUT and Storck/Moore USA 3 points back continues. Zach Railey USA in the Finns is the one with a solid advance (10 points) on the second-ranked Jonas Hoegh-Chrstensen DEN. The top group in the Starboats is closer together with Scheidt/Prada BRA and Lööf/Salminen SWE tied on top ahead of Melleby/Pedersen NOR 3 points behind. Sally Barkow USA, Lucy McGregor GBR, Silja Lehtinen FIN and Olivia Price AUS qualified for the semi-finals in the Women's Match Race. Anna Tunnicliffe USA is out after a 2-3 loss to Lucy McGregor GBR. Nick Dempsey GBR in the RS:X-men and Demita Vega MEX in the RS:X-women continue to dominate the windsurfers.
Other best-ranked athletes representing North American federations were: 470 men, McNay/Biehl USA 6th and Ramsey/Leigh CAN 15th; 470 women Clark/Lihan USA USA 5th, Archibald/Dexter CAN 14th; RS:X men David Hayes CAN 5th, Federico Ortiz MEX 6th, Robert Willis USA 9th; RS:X women Farrah Hall USA 3rd, Dominique Vallée CAN 4th; Starboats Mendelblatt/Fatih USA 5th, Clarke/Tyler CAN 9th; Finn Greg Douglas CAN 5th; 49ers Ladha/Inkpen CAN 5th, Murrieta Bros MEX 18th.
The daily report and all results. For the first time at this year's MOCR, videos on the activities on Biscayne Bay have been posted.

The Lasers Standard, split in Gold- and Silverfleets, sailed two races yesterday initially in a 12 kn breeze, lateron declining to 8 kn. Inspite of mediocre results (7/12), Paul Goodison GBR is back on top of the overall rankings again, with David Wright CAN 3 points behind. Man of the day was Bruno Fontes BRA with two bullets, advancing on rank 3, only 3 points behind Goodison. Clay Johnson USA is 8th. Today, the last qualifiers before the Medal Races of the top-10 will be sailed. With the ranks 9 (Charlie Buckingham USA) to 12 (Lee Parkhill CAN) separted by 4 points only, the heat will be on today. Ricardo Montemayor MEX, sailing in the Silverfleet, is 53rd overall. The results of the Lasers Standard.
The new leader in the Lasers Radial is Lijia Xu CHN with a 6 points' lead on the World Champion Marit Bouwmeester NED after the day ranks 1 and 2 yesterday. Evi Van Acker BEL follows on the 3rd place. Paige Railey USA as 6th and Tania Elias Calles MEX - after a mediocre day (12/22) - down on rank 8 are on a good track to the Medal Races, whereas Danielle Dubé CAN on rank 13 is probably too far away.
The report of the day and the videos.

From last to first .... 'Telefonica' with Iker Martinez ESP will be again the leader 2 miles ahead of 'Camper' (Chris Nicholson NZL) when entering the Strait of Malakka this afternoon. 'Puma' (Ken Read USA) on position 3 is only 5 miles behind. Light and fickle winds will prevail during the coming two days. The race-viewer, the daily report and the videos.

The three Paralympic classes have already completed the qualification races and will sail the Medal Races today. Damien Séguin FRA, with a 20 points' lead on the Paralympic Gold medalist Pau Tingley CAN, is already the winner in the 2.4mR at the MOCR. The fight will go on for rank 3, where Megan Pascoe GBR is only one point ahead of the tied trio Le Blanc USA, Kol NED and Finch USA. The victory in the Skud 18 will be decided between the tied Fitzgibbon/Tresch AUS and Rickham/Birell GBR. Udo Hessels NED and his team are the new leaders in the Sonars, but the chasers John Robertson GBR and Bruno Jourdren FRA are not far away. The daily report and the videos.

Based on the latest weather forecasts for Northern Europe, the organisers have decided in favor of a lake near Örebro in Sweden as venue for the DN World & European Championships 2012. The first races are planned for next Monday. The report.

The 470 Junior World Championship 2012 in New Zealand begins today with the Practice Race. 32 teams from 14 nations are on the entry list. No North American teams participating.A Pre-Worlds-Regatta was held with the two New Zealand Olympic teams Snow-Hansen/Saunders NZL and Jo Aleh/Olivia Powrie NZL as sparring partners. Winners were however the Australian Youth team Crawford/Crawford. The results and the event-website where the resultats of the Practice Race will be posted during this morning.

A fresher breeze of up to 15 kn prevailed yesterday, and the specialists in such condition marked their presence. Belcher/Page AUS extended their lead on top of the 470 men, and in the 470 women, Lisa Westerhof/Lobke Berkhout NED replaced the leading Mills/Clarke GBR on the first position with the day ranks 1 and 2. Delle-Karth/Resch AUT took over rank 1 in the 49ers with three bullets, one point ahead of Storck/Moore USA. Increasing the gap on the runner-up was also Zach Railey USA in the Finns, ahead of Jonas Hoegh-Christensen DEN. The day rank 1 and 2 brought Robert Scheidt/Bruno Prada BRA on top of the Starboats, followed by Lööf/Salminen SWE and Melleby/Pedersen NOR. Nick Dempsey GBR is the dominant leader in the RS:X-male windsurfers with 5 of the 6 heats completed in his favor, while the small RS:X-female windsurfers fleet is dominated by Demita Vega MEX. Four quarter-finalists are known in the Women Match Race with Sally Barkow USA (11-1), Silja Lehtinen FIN (10-2), Ekaterina Skudina RUS (8-4) and Anna Tunnicliffe USA. The Group B qualifiers will be decided today.
Other best-ranked athletes representing North American federations were: 470 men, McNay/Biehl USA 6th and Ramsey/Leigh CAN 18th; 470 women Haeger/Provancha USA 7th, Archibald/Dexter CAN 14th; RS:X men Federico Ortiz MEX 5th, David Hayes CAN 7th (replacing Martin Lefèbre CAN now 9th), Robert Willis USA up on 8th; RS:X women Farrah Hall USA 3rd, Dominique Vallée CAN 4th; Starboats Mendelblatt/Fatih USA 5th, Clarke/Tyler CAN 10th; Finn Greg Douglas CAN 5th (passing Brendan Wilton CAN); 49ers Cook/Lowden CAN 6th, Murrieta Bros MEX 17th; Women Match Race, neither Genny Tulloch nor Sharon Ferris CAN will make the quarter finals today.
All rankings and the daily report.

The day ranks 1 and 2 and the discard becoming effective after 6 races brought David Wright CAN back on top of the Lasers Standard, one point ahead of Paul Goodison GBR. Chris Dold CAN remains on the 3rd place. No changes for Clay Johnson USA on 8th and Ricardo Montemayor MEX on 38th.
Another successful race day for Lijia Xu CHN in the Lasers Radial reducing the gap on Marit Bouwmeester NED to one point. The third-ranked Evi Van Acker BEL and Nathalie Brugger SUI are already 19 points behind the Chinese. The NorAm Laser women all lost ranks with Tania Elias Calles MEX now 6th, Paige Railey USA 8th and Danielle Dubé CAN 10th.
With a 15 kn breeze blowing, this was the freshest day so far. Comes in addition, that tactics were very tricky in the variable winds on the course close to the shore. The report of the day.

The fleet is now heading North still in a moderate breeze and will reach the entrance to the 500 miles' Strait of Malakka. The leader now is 'Camper' with Chris Nicholson NZL, closely followed by 'Puma' (Ken Read USA) 1.8 miles behind as well as 'Groupama' (Franck Cammas FRA) and 'Telefonica' (Iker Martinez ESP) 4 miles back. The next challenge is the passing of the Strait of Malakka with its dense ship traffic and a light and unconstant breeze. The final count-down for the win of leg 3 will begin later in the South Chinese Sea. The race-viewer, the daily report and the videos.

No changes on top of the three Paralympic Classes after yesterday's two races. Damien Séguin FRA clearly keeps the lead in the 2.4 mR. The new second - after the discard becoming effective - is Mark Le Blanc USA. In the Skud-18, Rickham/Birell GBR extended their lead on Fitzgibbon/Tresch AUS on 2 points. Bruno Jourdren FRA and his team kept his first place in the Sonars, despite of their weakest day so far. The daily report.

Next weekend, the World and European Championship of the DN-Ice-Sailors is scheduled to begin, and as usual, the organisers - this time the Germans - are busy looking for good ice. Sweden would be OK as far as ice is concerned, but there is too much snow on the surface, and the wind forecasts are not brilliant either. Another option is Poland provided the cold front announced for today will increase the thickness of the ice. As always, the decision where to go will be taken on very short notice. The report.

Light but steady winds prevailed yesterday and all classes sailed two or three races. The favorites are on their way up the rankings in most of the classes, such as in the 470 men, where the World Champions Belcher/Page AUS are now 2 points ahead of Coster/Coster NED. Mills/Clarke extended their lead in the 470 women, with Kadelbach/Behrens GER new on rank 2. Storck/Moore USA are still on rank 1 in the 49ers, but Delle-Karth/Resch AUT 6 points behind are getting closer. No doubts about the leader in the Finns where Zach Railey USA dominated so far with three race wins. A leader change happened in the Starboats, where Melleby/Pedersen NOR joined Mendelblatt/Fatih USA on top with the same number of points, one point ahead of Lööf/Salminen SWE. Mariano Reutemann ARG is the new first in the RS:X-men windsurfers, as the triple race winner Nick Dempsey GBR has an OCS disqualification in his books for the moment. The best RS:X-woman windsurfer is now clearly Demita Vega MEX, 7 points ahead of Farrah Hall USA and Dominique Vallée CAN. Group B of the Women-Match-Race sailed a rather leveled Round Robin yesterday with Mandy Mulder NED on top with a 6-1 score ahead of Tamara Echegoyen ESP and Olivia Powrie AUS with 5-2 wins each.
Other best-ranked athletes representing North American federations were: 470 men, McNay/Biehl USA 5th and Ramsey/Leigh CAN 13th; 470 women Haeger/Provancha USA 6th, Archibald/Dexter CAN 14th; RS:X men Federico Ortiz MEX 4th, Martin Lefèbre CAN 6th, Robert Willis USA 11th; Starboats Clarke/Tyler CAN 8th; Finn Brendan Wilton CAN 5th; 49ers Cook/Lowden CAN 5th, Murrieta Bros MEX 17th; Women Match Genny Tulloch 8th (3-6 wins), Sharon Ferris CAN 12th (1-7).
The report of the day and all results.

Both Laser classes sailed two races according to the program yesterday in a 8-10 kn breeze. Paul Goodison GBR is the new leader in the Lasers Standard winning both races of his group. David Wright CAN follows one point behind. Chris Dold CAN is 3rd, Clay Johnson USA 8th and Ricardo Montemayor MEX 38th.
Marit Bouwmeester NED remains the highflyer in the Lasers Radial, as her advance on the second-ranked Charlotte Dobson GBR is now already 18 points. Tania Elias-Calles MEX is 3rd. The best of the day was Lijia Xu CHN finishing 1 and 2, that brings her on rank 5 behind Evi Van Acker BEL. Some light is at the end of the tunnel for Paige Railey, ranks 18 and 3 yesterday, and now on rank 6 overall. Danielle Dubé CAN plunged from rank 2 to rank 9 after a rather mediocre day. The daily report and all results.

The fleet still sails eastbound on a long port tack in moderate conditions. 'Puma' with Ken Read USA keeps the lead 1,7 miles ahead of 'Camper' (Chris Nicholson GBR). Winner of yesterday was 'Telefonica' with Iker Martinez ESP, who remained within the 17 miles' backlog to the leaders, and at the same time moved up two places on rank 4. The race-viewer, the report of the day and the videos.

As in most of the ISAF World Cup events, the Paralympic Classes join the Olympic circuit, also in Miami, where the MOCR followed the Paralympics Worlds back-to-back. The World Champion in the 2.4 mR Damien Séguin FRA is on a clear leader position already, followed by Paul Tingley CAN and Megan Pascoe GBR with the same number of points. John Ruf USA is 7th, but watch out for Mark Le Blanc USA on 8th with two race wins and an OCS, In the Skud 18 is a duel between Alexandra Rickham/Niki Birell GBR and Daniel Fitzgibbon/Liesl Tresch AUS going on, separated by one point only. Ranks 3 and 4 go the US boats, 5th is Canadian. Another French lead by Bruno Jourdren FRA stays in the Sonars, where Paul Callahan USA follows 4 points behind on rank 2. The best Canadian team Millar is on rank 8. The daily report.

As every year, the 'European Yachts of the Year' were selected on the occasion of the 'boot' show in Düsseldorf. Winner in the category 'Special Yachts' is the Esse 750 of Josef Schuchter SUI. The winners. All boats of the Schuchter-Boatyard are on show in the hall A16/56.

The Miami OCR 2012 on Biscayne Bay, second event of the ISAF Worldcup, began yesterday in an initial 12 kn beeze decreasing during the afternoon with two races for most of the classes. The 470 men however completed only one heat with Coster/Coster NED as winners ahead of Mantis/Kagialis GRE and Belcher/Page AUS. First in the only 470 women regatta were Mills/Clark GBR followed by Westerhof/Berkhout NED. In the 49ers, the clear leaders after three races are Stork/Moore USA in front of Delle-Karth/Resch AUT. Winner of the only Finn race was Zach Railey USA followed by Caleb Paine USA and Jonas Hoegh-Christensen DEN. Lööf/Salminen SWE and Mendelblatt/Fatih USA share the lead in the Starboats in front of Scheidt/Prada BRA. In the RS:X-men, Nick Dempsey GBR crossed the finish line as first in both heats, while Farrah Hall USA and Demita Vega MEX share rank one in the RS:X-women. Women-Match Race began with group A and Siljia Lehtinen FIN is leading with an 8-1 score ahead of Sally Barkow USA 6-0 and Anna Tunnicliffe USA 6-1.
Here in addition the positions of other best-ranked athletes representing North American federations in the 470 men 6th McNay/Biehl USA and 14th Ramsey/Leigh CAN, in the 470 women 7th Haeger/Provancha USA, in the RS:X men 5th Federico Ortiz MEX, 7th Martin Lefèbre CAN, 12th Carson Crane USA, in the Starboats 10th Clarke/Tyler CAN, in the Finn 5th Rob Hemming CAN, in the 49ers 3rd Ladha/Inkpen CAN, 14th Murrieta Bros MEX and finally in the Women Match Jinnie Gordon CAN as last with 0-8.
The report of the day.

Light winds prevailed on day one of the Miami OCR, second event of the ISAF Worldcup 2012. The initial 12 kn breeze diminished during the afternoon. The recently crowned World Champion Marit Bouwmeester NED clearly took the lead in the Lasers Radial ahead of Danielle Dubé CAN and Charlotte Dobson GBR. Tania Elias Calles is 5th, Paige Railey USA 9th.
David Wright CAN took control over the Lasers Standard winning both races of his group. Paul Goodison GBR is 2nd, the tied Caleb Paine CAN and Jesper Stahlheim SWE are 3rd. Clay Johnson USA is 6th, Pablo Rabago MEX 37th. The official report and the event-website.

The 6 teams sailing East on a long upwind beat passed South of Sri Lanka during last night. There are not too many tactical options in this drag race. 'Puma' with Ken Read USA remained on top, but in the last 12 hours, 'Camper' (Chris Nicholson NZL) reduced the gap to 1,3 miles. 'Groupama' with Franck Cammas FRA follows on 3rd with a 2,8 miles' backlog. The overall leader 'Telefonica' with Iker Martinez ESP is not yet up to speed being last 15 miles behind. The race-viewer, the daily report and the videos.

At the 'boot' show in Düsseldorf, the promotors of the new One-Design-Trimarans MOD 70 presented the Europa-Tour 2012, starting in Kiel on August 29 after the Transatlantic Regatta of the class. The competition consists of short races at the ports of call, and the long distance races between these ports of roughly 5'000 miles. The destinations after Kiel GER are Emerals Isle IRL, Cascais POR, Marseille FRA to the coast of Liguria. Six teams will participate, among them the double Vendée Globe winner Michel Desjoyeaux FRA and one of the initiators of the class, Stève Ravussin SUI from Geneva. The report.

The Olympic and Paralympic Wordcup event two racing starts today on Biscayne Bay with 521 competitors from 41 nations on the entrylist. A moderate easterly breeze around 15 kn has been forecast promising perfect conditions. The official preview.

Part two of leg three of the Volvo Ocean Race left the Maledives yesterday in a moderate 10 kn breeze, heading for the Chinese holiday island Sanya 3000 miles away. 'Puma' (Ken Read USA) has taken the lead 1,2 miles in front of 'Groupama' (Franck Cammas FRA) and 1,8 miles before 'Camper' (Chris Nicholson NZL). The six teams are about to reach the Malakka Strait with its dense ship traffic adding another challenge.The report and the race-viewer.

Only one race could be sailed on the last day of the Antibes Ski-Yachting. Goedhart/Van Steckelenborg NED are the winners in the 420s, Boite/Gallo FRA are first in the 5o5s closely followed by Holzapfel/Worm GER. In the Dragons, François Jacquard FRA and his team are on the top position. The dominator in the Finns was Thomas Morel FRA. All results.

Ernesto Bertarelli SUI gives his comeback as skipper and helmsman of the 'Alinghi' cat at the opening event of the Extreme Sailing Series 2012 in Dubai end of February. Another returnee to the public-friendly tour will be Erik Maris FRA. The preview.

The start to part 2 of leg 3 will be given today at 8 a.m. UCT, and as it appears, the Maledives were the secret safe port of call. Surprises will not be excluded during this leg, as especially the last part passing the South Chinese Sea will probably be the most bumpy part of the whole race.The start can as always be followed live on the Internet. A preview.

After the ski race two days ago - results not published - all classes sailed two races each during the first two sailing days. Leaders in the 420s are Thelier/Germain FRA followed by Goedhard/Van Steckelenborg NED.e In the 5o5, Markt/Conversy FRA are ahead of Boite/Gallo FRA and Holzapfel/Worm GER. A race win was not enough for Betschen/Jacot SUI to do better as rank 8 in the interim rankings. The leading Dragon is 'Tramontana' with Manzoni/Fravezzi/Leardini ITA. Zürcher/Dührsen/Engstfeld SUI follow on rank 18. In the Finns, Thomas Morel FRA is in front of Jacques Faurox FRA and Denis Castanet FRA. All
l results.

Only minor changes in the two races of the last day at the KWRW 2012. The former Moth World Champion Bora Gulari USA is the outstanding winner in the Melges 24 with 7 wins in 10 races. Alan Field USA , two bullets, is on rank two, while Franco Rossini SUI (this time with Matteo Ivaldini ITA as tactician) remains on the third place. John Kilroy USA, 'Samba Pa Ti', with tactician Lorenzo Bressani ITA defended the first place in the Melges 32. Clear winners also Darren Hillard USA in the J/80 and Deneen Demourkas USA in the Farr 30. Only 'Barking Mad' of James Richardson USA with Hamish Pepper NZL calling tactics jumped on rank 1 in the Farr 40 thanks to two race wins, two points ahead of Alberto Rossi ITA and Wolfgang Schäfer GER. All rankings,the report and the video of the day.

'Team New Zealand' has also started the construction of the first America's-Cup-catamaran AC72. The Team director Grant Dalton recently showed media around the boatyard and in formed in detail. The video-report.

The International 420 Class Association launched a new website two days ago with a neat design clearly informing an all details of interest such as class basics, news, programs, videos, trainings-tips, making use of the latest social media approaches (Twitter, Facebook, Youtube,..). The report on the new 420 website.

The Key West Race Week continued yesterday with three more races sailed in a moderate 10 kn breeze. Before today's final two races, the outcome seems to be decided in some of the classes: Bora Gulari USA leads the Melges 24 fleet by 10 points on Alan Field USA and on equal Points Franco Rossini SUI. 18 points is the advance of Darden Hillard USA in the J/80. Tension could rise in the Melges 32 where John Kilroy's USA ('Samba Pa Ti') margin on Benjamin Schwartz USA on 'Pisces' is just four points. All rankings, the daily report and the videos.

As last of the six teams 'Sanya' finished the second leg of the Volvo Ocean Race which lead the fleet to a secret and save harbour in the Indian Ocean. Next sunday the entire fleet will start here for the second part of leg 3 which leads the VOR over 4'000 miles to China. The report and a video presentation.

After three days of nonstop sailing, Yvan Bourgnon SUI and Sébastien Roubinet FRA finished their 400 miles race around Cape Horn on their 6 meter Nacra 20-Beach-Catamaran in Ushuaia, the most southern harbour of Argentina. No reports, pictures or videos are available this morning, it's just the Race-Viewer who announces the end of this pioneer record journey.

Teahupoo in the Southern Sea close to Tahita is famous among surfers for it's huge waves. At last years Billabong Pro Contest the waves were as high as never before. See the impressive video.

Light, fickle winds promoted organizers with Premiere Racing to cancel competition on Wednesday with hope that better breezes would allow for three starts on Thursday when winds are forecast to be 7 to 12 knots. This has only been the fourth day lost in this wind-safe area for the last 20 years. Up to now, all classes have completed five races. The event ends tomorrow Friday. All results, the report of the day and the videos.

Yvan Bourgnon SUI/Sébastien Roubinet FRA have sailed roughly two third of their trip around the most southern point of Cape Horn. This morning, they interrupted their journey for a rest in one of the nature parks of the Cape, without indicating the reason. Was it fatigue, thr fresh breeze, damage, or just the pure interest ? This morning already, they plan to be back at Ushuaia. The race-viewer.

The Antibes Ski Yachting begins today with the giant-slalom at Auron one hour from Nice FRA with a good international attention again this year. The entry lists and the event-website.