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Day 2 of the Maxi Yacht Rolex started in 18 knots from the southeast, which took their toll on some of the overpowered boats. Winners for the day comprised: ‘Highland Fling’ MON in the Maxis on the coastal course, correcting out over Igor Simcic’s ‘Esimit Europa 2’ SLO who again got line honors. The vintage ‘Hetairos’ CAY (ketch-rigged) corrected to first in the Supermaxis with ‘Ranger’ (CAY) again winning the J-Class match. In the Wally class, ‘Magic Carpet’ GBR corrected out to first in the race, but trails ‘Y3K’ GER overall. In the Mini Maxi Worlds, three races were sailed with ‘Rán’ (Niklas Zennstrom) GBR winning the day, but sitting in second overall behind Andy Soriano’s ‘Alegre’ GBR. 'Bella Mente’ (Hap Fauth) USA and 'Titan 15' (Bill Koch) USA are in 5th and 6th, respectively. A coastal course is scheduled for today. The report, the gallery and the tracking page (needs Google Earth).

With approval from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), ISAF has published the Olympic Qualification System for the 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition in Weymouth and Portland GBR, which will accommodate 380 athletes in 10 events: Men's and Women’s Windsurfer (RS:X), Men's One Person Dinghy (Laser Standard), Women's One Person Dinghy (Laser Radial), Men's One Person Dinghy Heavyweight (Finn), Men's and women’s Two Person Dinghy (470), Men's Skiff (49er), Men's Keelboat (Star), Women's Match Racing (Elliott 6m). Conspicuously absent: A multihull class.
The total quota of athletes per National Olympic Committee (NOC) is 16, nine men and seven women (maximum 1 boat per event). The Qualification Pathway states that 75% of each event's entry quota shall be qualified from those best-ranked NOCs in each of the relevant events at the 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships (Perth 2011). The remaining 25% of each events entry quota shall be qualified from each event’s 2012 World Championship or other event sanctioned by ISAF, to finish by 1 June 2012 at the latest. The report with the download of the details of the Qualification System. For still more information, visit the ISAF London 2012 microsite.

Four members of San Diego Yacht Club’s junior program, Nevin Snow, Jake La Dow, Max Hutcheson and Jake Reynolds are in Rapallo, Italy, this week to compete in the Italiana Cup — an international match series for juniors. The event, which is sailed on Portobello 28 keelboats, started yesterday and the practice this summer seems to be paying off as the SDYC team. On a wild and windy day they tamed the boat and their opponents to stand at 2-0. Forecast predicts more wild weather for today. If not, the boys are scheduled to meet the British team that won the shindig last year. Follow them on Facebook.

When we started out with the US edition of Sailing News last March we didn’t know just how much fun that will be. Here we are six months later, continuing to build a loyal following that loves Olympic classes and one designs and sees sailing as a global sport where stuff happens 24/7. Thanks for your support, it is validation of our daily efforts and motivation to try even harder.
According to some analytic sites we are showing triple-digit growth rates while others are bleeding readers. We have no way of verifying such claims. Instead we went back to our archives to see how we do. We randomly selected the week from Aug. 21 to Aug. 28 and counted. Then we counted again, but it the number didn't change: 150 published regatta reports (translated into three different languages) with images, results and links to videos, tracking sites and sailors’ blogs, Facebook and Twitter pages.
This is what it's like now. And it isn't trickling. It is pouring from the rock star regattas down to the grass roots of sailing where most participants spend their time. If we want to “save sailing,” we must strengthen and promote the volunteer-run organizations and events. Modern technology like smart phones and social media make it easier than ever, but we can’t do it by ourselves. If you are involved in an Olympic or one-design class, in a club or community sailing organization, we encourage you to join us on Twitter and Facebook, and to submit your event reports, images and results to editor@sailing-news.us. If you do, we’ll run it. Even on weekends.

A grand total of 359 entries, 39 of them from the US, were registered for the World Laser Masters Championships in Hayling Island GBR, which start this weekend. Twelve races are scheduled to take place from Sept. 13 to 19 with Sept. 16 reserved as rest day. The competition will take place in four age groups: Apprentices (35-44), Masters (45-54), Grand Masters (55-64), Great Grand Masters (65+ on Laser Radials). A total of 11 trophies will be awarded: Laser Standard (Men) Apprentice, Master, Grand Master; Laser Radial (Women) Apprentice, Master, Grand Master and Great Grand Master; Laser Radial (Combined Men/Women) Apprentice, Masters, Grand Masters, Great Grand Masters. The large US contingent is led by multiple world champion Peter Seidenberg (GGM), Peter Vesella (GM) and former Laser Standard and Finn world champion, John Bertrand (M). Other notables in this event include Finn world champion 1981 Wolfgang Gerz GER (GM), Arnoud Hummel NED (M) and 5.5 Meter Olympic Gold medalist 1968 Peter Sundelin SWE (GM). More on the event site.

Not much more luck with the wind on Day 4 of the PWA Slalom World Cup Final in Hyères FRA yesterday, where a vent d’est teased but never filled in sufficiently to allow racing to commence. Today, with Sailing News editor Beat Stegmeier on site, the action will return as he made sure to pack some Mistral in his carry on, which will delight the ladies. The suspense for the titles is however reduced at this first-ever all–women’s PWA event, as current leader, Valerie Arrighetti FRA, is expected to win her second event of the year and Karin Jaggi SUI is set to pick up the 2010 world title. Details on the event site.

No wind, no go in Torbole ITA on Day 2 of the 5.5. Worlds. Time enough to have a latte or three, lick the wounds inflicted by the zesty Ora on Monday and hope for not quite as much today. Leading the overall standings is Flavio Marazzi SUI (2) followed by Christoph Burger NOR (5) and Kristian Nergaard NOR (8). The report and the gallery.

The outcome of the 2010 Open 470 European Championships remained in the balance until the final leg of the men’s medal race. Just five points separated the top six men’s 470 teams going into the contest that was sailed in strong and gusty winds. Panagiotis Mantis/Pavlos Kagialis GRE then once more proved their prowess in these conditions, scoring another bullet to secure their first European championship, at the same time condemning Gideon Kliger/Eran Sela ISR to second in the race and overall. It was Kliger’s third time as a runner up in the Europeans. In third place Luke Patience/Stuart Bithell GBR, who led the fleet after into the medal race, but sailed a high-risk strategy (including a port start) that failed them. Finishing fifth, they were happy to secure Bronze.
Series leaders Emmanuelle Rol/Helene Defrance struck a windward mark during the women’s medal race and had to take a penalty turn, but managed to stay ahead of their rivals and finish third, winning Gold by 18 points over Giulia Conti/Giovanna Micol ITA and Ingrid Petitjean/Nadege Douroux FRA, who took Bronze while Camille Lecointre/Mathilde Geron FRA slipped from second to fourth overall.
Earlier in the day the remainder of the 92 competing teams completed one final fleet race. Best of the rest were Matthias Schmid/Florian Reichstaedter AUT finishing 11th and edging Stu McNay/Graham Biehl USA who slipped to 12th. Reigning Junior World and European Champions Sofian Bouvet/Jeremie Mion FRA secured victory in the Silver fleet. The report, all results and the gallery..

The first day of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup 2010 saw 47 boats competing on the seas off the northeastern coast of Sardinia in a light 7 to 8 knot NNW breeze. In the Mini Maxi World Championship ‘Alegre’ (Andy Soriano) GBR won out over ‘Shockwave (Neville Crichton) NZL and ‘Ran’ (Niklas Zennstrom) GBR. ‘Titan 15’ (skippered by Bill Koch) USA is in seventh. ‘Ranger’ CAY won the battle of the J-Class boats over ‘Velsheda’ GBR.
The remaining divisions, the Super Maxis with the 45.2 m ‘Saudade’ (Albert Buell) MLT and the 45-meter ‘Salperton’ completed a coastal race of 30 nautical miles. ‘Hamilton II’ corrected out over ‘Saudade’ and ‘Gliss’ (Marco Vogele) SUI. In the Racing/Racer Cruiser division ‘Esimet Europa 2’ (Ex Alfa Romeo/Igor Simicic) SLO, skippered by Flavio Favini ITA, won ahead of ‘Highland Fling’ (Irvine Laidlaw) MON and ‘DSK Pioneer’ (Danilo Salsi) ITA. ‘J One’ (Jean-Charles Decaux) FRA took first place in the Wally division followed by Y3K (Claus Peter Offen) GER and ‘Dark Shadow’ (Andrè Auberton) GBR. Racing continues today, with SSE winds of up to 25 knots in the afternoon. The report, thegallery and the tracking page (needs Google Earth).

The famous windsurf beach of Almanarre in Hyères FRA is the site of the fourth and last event in the women's PWA Slalom World Cup. Alas thus far only three heats were sailed on opening day (Sat.) due to lack of wind. Ahead with three bullets is Valérie Ghibaudo-Arrighetti FRA, followed by Karin Jaggi SUI, who leads the World Cup overall standings. She need s a second here to ice another title. Details on the PWA tour site, including videos and an interview with Jaggi in the daily report. Forecast promises Mistral for tomorrow.

Over this Labor Day weekend, 170 boats raced in the traditional Annapolis Race Week with the Farr 30s holding their North American Championship and the Cal 25 their Nationals.
In the 46-boat Fleet 2 the Farr 30 started last Friday and held 12 races with Jim Richardson’s ‘Barking Mad’ winning another North American trophy in a landslide from Bodo von der Wense’s ‘Turbo Duck’ and William Markel’s ‘Standard Deviation’. In the J/80 Allan Terhune Jr. also tallied a 25-point advantage over Dan Wittig. Closer, but not really close was the finish in PHRF A2 where John White had a seven-point cushion over Mike Frampton’s ‘Defiance’ after eight races.
In the 54-boat Fleet 1 eight races were held with the class winners as follows: Beneteau 36.7: ‘Stardancer’ (John Blais), Farr 40: ‘Endorphin’ (Erik Wulff), J/105 ‘Rum Puppy (Jack Biddle), J/35 Mr. Bill’s Wild Ride’ (William Wildner), PHRF A0: ‘Anemascore’ (Ennio Staffini), PHRF A1: ‘The Fish’ (Karen Lenkey).
In the 61-boat Fleet 3 the Cal 25 Nationals went down to the wire with Brian Shenstone on ‘Draco’ losing a bullet to a 40% penalty in Race 6, but coming back with a 1-2 to edge Jimmy and Mike Praley’s ‘Upchuck’. The other winners in this fleet are: Catalina 27: ‘Slam Duck’ (T. Walsh/J. Potvin), J/24: ‘Spaceman spiff’ (Pete Kassal), J/30: ‘Bebop’ (B. Rutsch/M. Costello), PHRF B: ‘Flying circus’ (Dave Coleman), PHRF CD: ‘Defiant’ (Fred Caison). Lastly, in PHRF N ‘Divide by Zero (John Lanigan) at the top after three races. No reports or images were posted during the event, so try the ARW Web site later this week.

Yesterday, US ocean racer Brad Van Liew set sail from Charleston South Carolina for La Rochelle, for the start of the Velux 5 Oceans Race next month onboard his Eco 60 racer ‘Le Pingouin’. The boat underwent a thorough refit as it has several times before when it had done business as ‘Whirlpool,’ ‘Tiscali,’ ‘Global Challenge’ and ‘Pro Form’. The 42-year-old will sail about 3000 nautical miles across the Atlantic and use the passage as a qualifying sail and as a shakedown cruise to test electronics, sails, communication systems and hardware. On October 25, Van Liew and seven others will begin their 30,000-mile solo journey around the planet. Stopovers are set for Cape Town RSA, Wellington NZL, Salvador BRA, Charleston USA before returning to the finish in La Rochelle. It will be Van Liew’s third race after 1998/99 and 2002/03 editions, winning class two in the latter race. More on the Team Lazarus Web site and on the Velux 5 Oceans site.

Yesterday was the first day of racing at the 5.5 Metre World Championship 2010 at Circolo Vela Torbole with 30 boats from nine countries. On a typical breezy lake Garda day, top Star sailor Flavio Marazzi SUI (2) got two bullets to lead the standings, followed by Christoph Burger NOR (5) and Kristian Nergaard NOR (8). Prior to the Worlds, Nergaard sailing with Peer Moberg and Petter Morland Pedersen won the tune-up event, the Scandinavian Gold Cup by beating Bernard Haissly SUI in the sail-off. It was Nergaard's third consecutive win of a unique regatta which is won by the boat that first wins three races. All boats that have not won a race after three heats are excused from competition. Get the details.

Dame Ellen MacArthur says she learnt about sustainability from her experiences sailing around the world. She told BBC Radio 5: "Having collected everything I would need for my survival for two and a half months and having to manage it...I had a real idea of the notion of finite." MacArthur has set up an educational foundation to promote sustainability. Key objectives include: To provide a framework for change through inspirational content, education programs and communication. To help seed the future economy with people with the knowledge and skills to build a sustainable future. To engage with industry and showcase what is already happening in this area and challenge the status quo. For more of ellen's plans, visit the Foundation's Web site.

It took some doing on the last and windiest day of the 2010 Laser World Championship, but Tom Slingsby AUS, who also turned 26 yesterday, clinched his third title in four years and his second world championship in the last two weeks, after also winning the Etchells as crew for John Bertrand. After Slingsby had scored a safe sixth in the penultimate race, the last contest should have been more of the same, which it was until he found himself upside down as the breeze gusted to 23 knots. Somehow he got back up in a hurry and fought his way back to 14th, which sealed the win and a mega-cushion of 36 points. That’s because his closest rival in the overall standings, Nick Thompson GBR, also elected to run his capsize drill, which turned a possible top-three finish into a discard. In the end he had to be content with the crown prince’s honors, ahead of Andrew Murdoch NZL who had a strong day with 8-1 to return to the podium when it mattered and secure bronze for the second year in a row. Julio Alsogaray ARG, who saved his best sailing for last, finished fourth overall, ahead of Pavlos Kontides CYP, who sunk his medal chances with a 32nd in the very last race, which he was unable to discard. Defending champ Paul Goodison GBR was busy with damage control, won the first race of the day and booked a 10th to end in 9th overall. The only US contestant in the Gold fleet, Fred Vranizan, finished in 53rd.
In the Silver fleet Dave Wright CAN remained on top, followed by Clay Johnson USA and a surging Karol Porozynski POL, who had a 1-2 on the final day. The other US finishers in Silver were Rob Crane 17th and Kyle Rogachenko in 31st.
In the Junior World Championship Thorbjoern Schierurp DEN posted a third at the end to hold off Francesco Marrai ITA and Alex Mills-Barton GBR who took Silver and Bronze, respectively. The report, and the RYA video page with the day’s summaries (and an interview with Finn world champion Ed Wright).

With just the medal race remaining, the outcome of the 2010 Open 470 European Championships is far from clear. Two races in the gusty and shifty waters of Istanbul reshuffled the order of the men’s fleet, and now just 5 points separate the top six teams. The dice rolled right for Luke Patience/Stuart Bithell GBR (56) who scored 5-1 to lead the men’s standings before today’s medal race. Next are Gideon Kliger/Eran Sela ISR (57) and Pangiotis Mantis/Pavlos Kagialis GRE (57) and Sime Frantela/Igor Marenic CRO (58). It will be a hot race because the next two teams, Leboucher/Garos FRA and Kampouridis/Polychronidis GRE are only three points behind the defending champs from Croatia. Stu McNay/Graham Biehl USA added two ninth-place finishes to their score yesterday, which was good, but only for 11th overall, four points short of the medal race. In the Silver fleet Sofian Bouvet/Jérémie Mion FRA have a 9-point lead over Dubbini/Dubbini ITA.
In the women’s event, Emmanuelle Rol/Helene Defrance FRA now hold a 10-point advantage over Camille Lecointre/Mathilde Geron FRA and 14 over Giulia Conti/Giovana Micol ITA. Final fleet race for everyone outside the Top 10 at 11 am local time (4 am EDT) with the women’s medal race following at 3 pm local (8 am EDT) and the men’s at 3:45 pm local (8:45 EDT). The report, all results and the live tracker.

On the final day of the St. Moritz Match Race, the Maloja wind kicked in and Mathieu Richard FRA buckled down to grind out the necessary race wins for the title. Richard and Adam Minoprio NZL advanced from the quarters with one win only and got dusted in the first race of the semis. Richard lost to Ben Ainslie GBR while Minoprio fell to Ian Williams GBR. It looked like an all-Brits final was in the making, but Richard took the next two from Ainslie to advance despite having to do a penalty turn in the decisive third match. Williams kept the upper hand over Minoprio with 2-1 and faced Richard in the finals. They split the first two and Richard proved to be the master of the Maloja puffs to pull out the final win that earned him the big check and an extra cushion in the overall standings of the World Match Racing Tour, which he leads. Minoprio beat Ainslie in the petit final. The next tour event is on the island of Bornholm, Denmark next week. The report with the results and the 'Play of the Day' video with Minoprio hanging not one, but two penalties on Williams.

Over this Labor Day weekend, 161 boats assembles for the traditional Annapolis Race Week where the Farr 30s hold their North American Championship and the Cal 25 sail their Nationals. In absence of any reports, here are the results: In the 54-boat Fleet 1 the class leaders after five scored races are Beneteau 36.7: ‘Stardancer’ (John Blais), Farr 40: ‘Endorphin’ (Erik Wulff), J/105 ‘Rum Puppy (Jack Biddle), J/35 Mr. Bill’s Wild Ride’ (William Wildner), PHRF A0: ‘Stray Dog’ (Charles Engh), PHRF A1: ‘The Fish’ (Karen Lenkey).
In the 46-boat Fleet 2 more races were added in the Farr 30 North American Championships (started on Friday) where Jim Richardson’s ‘Barking Mad’ continues the rampage and leads now by 25 points over Bodo von der Wense’s ‘Turbo Duck’. In the J/80 Allan Terhune Jr. is nearly as dominant with a 16-point advantage over Dan Wittig. It’s much closer in PHRF A2 where John White has a one-point lead over Mike Frampton’s ‘Defiance’ after six races. In the 61-boat Fleet 3 Brian Shenstone holds a four-point lead over Jimmy and Mike Praley in the Cal 25 Nationals.

Ed Wright GBR destroyed the rest of the world’s Finn elite. It’s as simple as that. With surgical precision Wright added another bullet in the medal race yesterday in mellower conditions than usual. It was his fifth in 11 races at the 2010 Finn Gold Cup and a fitting end of his title bid that put him 31 points clear of Rafael Trujillo ESP, who was lucky to hold off Giles Scott GBR and win Silver. Three points behind the British-Spanish sandwich was Zach Railey USA, who took second in the medal race, his first top-three result of the week. In fifth Thomas Le Breton FRA. The rest of the fleet sailed too with Daniel Birgmark SWE getting his second bullet of the week to finish in 12th overall, behind Marin Misura CRO and ahead of Jonathan Lobert FRA. Top junior was Caleb Paine USA who sailed to an eighth place in Race 11 for 28th overall.
For the US Railey’s finish is the bright spot, along with Paine’s win in the Junior’s division, which should offer some satisfaction after getting fourth at the Silver Cup two weeks ago. Fourth is a bitter place, but still a fine finish in the Gold Cup even though Railey had mixed emotions. “4th at World Championship hard missing out on podium but overall am very pleased with how I sailed this week thanks 4 all the support,” he tweeted. If the US did not exactly invade the top 50 here, the amateurs and veterans deserve to be recognized, battling competition as much as the rough and windy bay. The event Web site, the final standings, the chopper shots and the YouTube Channel.

Tom Slingsby AUS is two steps removed from his third Laser World Championship after scoring two bullets yesterday on another English summer day in 15-16 knots of breeze. With speed to burn and conservative starts he finished far ahead of his nearest rivals in both races, building a 32-point lead in the Gold fleet standings. The champagne is on ice, but before Slingsby gets the winner’s dousing, he needs two more solid races today since he already carded his throwouts. Defending champ Paul Goodison GBR continued his slide into oblivion after getting yellow-flagged twice in the first race for excessive body kinetics. His second disqualification in as many days plunged the Olympic champion to 19th overall. Nick Thompson GBR was expected to challenge Slingsby, but sailed a real discard with a 17th after being forced to do penalty turns and playing catch-up. A 12th in the second race salvaged his chances for Silver. Angling for a podium finish is Jean-Baptiste Bernaz FRA, who benefited from a mixed day for the Kiwis and scored 15-3 to move up to third, right into the crosshairs of Pavlos Kontides CYP, the expat from Cyprus, who's one point behind. Fred Vranizan USA, brings up the rear in 53rd. The Silver fleet has Dave Wright CAN in the lead, followed by Clay Johnson USA.
Punchy starting helped Thorbjoern Schierup DEN to leap into the leader’s position in the Juniors rankings after the first two final races, which he both won. Behind, but tied on points is longstanding leader Francesco Marrai ITA. Alex Mills-Barton GBR is third, 13pts ahead of Filip Jurisic CRO. The report, all results and the video summary.

A rollercoaster ride in moderate to light conditions rattled the standings at both medal races for the RS:X World Championship in Kerteminde DEN. There were dramatic position changes in both fleets with the final podium positions fluctuating by the minute as each race progressed. A new challenge for the surfers was posed by the weeds that washed into the ocean during a torrential downpour on Friday. In the men’s fleet, Piotr Myszka POL had to come back from dead last to win the medal race and beat out his compatriot Przemyslaw Miarczynski. Third place for Nimrod Mashiah ISR. It’s Poland ’s first World Championship in the RS:X, although Miarczynski won in the Mistral class in 2003. The silver fleet was won by Ben Barger USA. Equally exciting was the women’s medal race, where Blanca Manchon ESP won the medal race and pipped 40-year old Alessandra Sensini ITA in the post, who finished sixth thus losing her bid for a fourth world title by a mere point. In third Charline Pichon FRA, winning the tiebreaker over Bryony Shaw GBR for bronze. Winner of the ladies silver fleet was Kate Ellingham NZL, by a half point over Tuuli Petaja FIN. Farrah Hall USA finished 26th. The report, the final results and the YouTube channel.

Light and patchy breezes on the penultimate day of the finals at 2010 Open 470 European Championships appeared tailor made for two French teams in the women’s division. Emanuelle Rol/Helene Defrance FRA got two thirds and moved into the lead, one point clear of their teammates Camille Lecointre/Mathilde Geron FRA, who had two seconds. Defending champs and Friday’s leaders Giulia Conti/Giovanna Micol ITA are in third after a sub-par day, eight points off the lead.
Sailing the shifts rather than the fleet was the secret of success for Panagiotis Mantis/Pavlos Kagialis GRE, who carded two fifths to extended their advantage over Gideon Kliger/Eran Sela ISR to six points. The Israelis had a bullet today to step up to second overall, two points ahead of Panagiotis Kampouridis/Theodoros Polychronidis GRE. Where are the Croatians who looked so good so far? Sime Fantela/Igor Marenic, the defending champs, slipped, tripped and tumbled to fifth, behind Nicholas Charbonnier/Baptiste Meyer-Dieu FRA who won a race yesterday. Stu McNay/Graham Biehl USA took a hit from the jury who converted a 13th from Friday into a DSQ. After 13-3 yesterday they remain in 14th overall, 10 points out of the medal race. They’ll need two very good races today to do it.
In the men’s Silver fleet, the points remain very tight with Joonas and Niklas Lindgren FIN holding on to the lead by a single point from 470 Junior World and European Champions, Sofian Bouvet/Jeremie Mion FRA. Stronger breeze possible for today’s last two fleet races, say the Greek, who have proven to know a thing or two about this place. Medal race on Monday. The report, all results and the gallery.

On a frustrating day for the six teams battling to reach the semi-finals of the St. Moritz Match Race, perhaps the biggest fight was off the water between the gradient northerly wind and the thermally induced southerly, which left the racecourse peppered with monumental wind shifts, holes and gusts.
Ben Ainslie GBR riding some luck but also considerable skill was the first and only one to advance to the semis yesterday sweeping Bjorn Hansen SWE. Adam Minoprio NZL slipped by Damien Iehl at the last second, coming from way behind for a 1-0 lead had, just like Mathieu Richard FRA holds a 1-0 lead over veteran Bertrand Pacé FRA. They’ll finish the quarters to find out who’ll join Ian Williams GBR the top seed in the semis and Ainslie. The report with the results and a video.

Earl be damned, the 13-boat Farr 30 fleet started their races at the Annapolis Race Week. After four races the score sheet shows 'Barking Mad’ (Jim Richardson) on 6 pts., doing a horizon job on everyone else. In second ‘Standard Deviation’ (William Markel (18) followed by Seabiscuit (Gail Owings (22). The 8-boat PHRF Division N which sailed the distance race to Gibson island showed ‘Nembo’ (Marino Dimarzo) ahead of ‘Divide by Zero’ (John Lanigan) and ‘Kolohe Anakalia’ (Robert Yoho). Nothing else was posted at press time so check the event site.

Let’s face it: Leading a world championship on the first day of the finals and getting sacked with a BFD hurts. Just ask Tom Slingsby AUS (28 pts.) who experienced exactly that yesterday on the first day of Gold fleet racing at the Laser Worlds. Slingsby survived the day with the lead and got a smidgen of relief by the fact that defending champion Paul Goodison GBR (51) and red-hot Michael Bullot NZL (66) committed the same blunder and paid dearly for it. However, Slingsby won’t feel smug, because despite his 13-point cushion Andrew Maloney NZL (41) he’s living on the razor’s edge with both discards occupied by fat scores so he can’t afford any mistakes from here on out. It was edgy out there yesterday in moderate breeze and glorious sunshine and an avalanche of 39 BFDs handed out by the RC across all three fleets in both races. One who kept clean was Nick Thompson GBR (41) who used a 4-2 to move from seventh into third (tied for second) with a tidy score line that includes only one ugly finish at the moment a 25th, which he managed to discard. Slingsby and Maloney will watch for him. In fourth is the intrepid Pavlos Kontides CYP (43), finding himself eight points clear of Mr. Goodison who only managed a 17th in the second race after tangling with a French sailor on the second beat. Fred Vranizan, the lone Gold fleeter of the US team got hit with a BFD and stands in 53rd. In the Silver fleet the lead belongs to Dave Wright CAN, Clay Johnson USA is fourth.
After the eight qualifiers are finished in the Junior World Championships Francesco Marrai scored two more bullets to build a 10-point lead over Thorbjoern Schierup DEN and Alex Mills-Barton GBR, who also won both of his group races. The report and the video summary.

It was the windiest day yet at the 2010 Finn Gold Cup on San Francisco Bay and Ed Wright GBR (20) underscored his title ambitions by winning the day with a third and a first, and bringing his total number of bullets to four. Before today’s double-point, non-discard medal race he holds a 13-point margin in the overall standings over Rafael Trujillo ESP (33), who also did well with 2-5, but can’t seem to quite match Wright’s level of performance and consistency.
Four Brits will be in the medal race when no other nation has more than one sailor. One of the four is Giles Scott GBR (38), who posted a 1-4 score and lurks in third overall, five points behind Trujillo and 17 clear of Zach Railey USA (55). Finishing fourth here would be great for Railey, but also bittersweet, because he wanted more. He sailed consistently with nine top-10 finishes, but no top-3 result yet. Second best US sailor remains Caleb Paine in 28th. He’s also the top junior, although only one point clear of Ioannis Mitakis GRE.
The event Web site , the gallery and the YouTube channel.

Ed. note: Please take a moment to reflect on August Miller USA, who stands in 78th and continues to confound common wisdom. Mr. Miller is 75 and has been sailing Finn, the most athletic Olympic dinghy class, for 44 years. In this regatta where hardly a race is run in less than 20 knots of wind and often with brutal chop on Berkeley Circle, Miller has finished every race and got his best result yesterday. He finished 66th in the last race of the final day, which was sailed in a blustery breeze. Seeing how many of his considerably younger colleagues have DNFs and DNS in their scores, please join us in saluting Gus Miller.

After adding one more qualifying race and the first two races of the finals after the split into gold and silver fleets there's a Greek renaissance to report with new leaders in the men’s division at the 2010 Open 470 European Championships in Istanbul TUR. Racing in strong but shifty breeze and sailing with some panache, Panagiotis Mantis/Pavlos Kagialis GRE took the overall lead from defending champs Sime Fantela/Igor Marenic CRO by a single point. Gideon Kliger/Eran Sela, hold third place just ahead of Panagiotis Kampouridis/Theodoros Polychronidis GRE, who were 2-3 in the first two races of the finals.
Decent day for Stuart McNay/Graham Biehl USA who got their first bullet winning their last group race in difficult conditions and adding 11-13 in the Gold fleet races for 14th overall, nine points behind the last medal race spot. The Silver fleet is led by Joonas and Niklas Lindgren FIN. Tough day for the ladies who were out on the water for three long and grueling races with, Giulia Conti/Giovanna Micol ITA holding a 10-point lead over Henriette Koch/Lene Sommer DEN who moved up to 2nd overall with a solid day and Emmanuelle Rol/Helen Defrance FRA. With racing now back on schedule two races will be scheduled for everyone today. The championships conclude with the medal race on Sunday. The report, the results, the gallery and the race tracker.

Light shifty was the theme at the RS:X World Championships were just one shortened race was held in both the men and women’s Gold fleets today in Kerteminde, Denmark, the competition watched by HRH Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark. Yesterday’s results determined the top 10 for the Men and Women’s medal races with some prominent names missing including Byron Kokalanis GRE in the men’s and Chen Qiubin CHN in the women’s. Yesterday’s overall leader, Dorian van Rijsselberge NED dropped to ninth overall, so he will race today but not for a medal. Piotr Myszka POL is the top dog now, a point ahead of Przemyslaw Miarczynski POL. The top seven have a shot at a medal with the top four in the running for the title. It’s closer in the women’s bracket: Leader Alessandra Sensini ITA is nine points ahead of Lee-el Korzits ITA and Blancha Manchon ESP, but any of the top six can snatch Gold, thus preventing Sensini from winning her fourth windsurfing world championship title. But any within the entire top 10 could take the silver and bronze. Today at 1100 local time the medal races begin with the men’s competition, followed immediately by the women. No official report was posted at press time, so check the event site

Ian Williams GBR (9-2), Ben Ainslie GBR (8-3) and Mathieu Richard FRA (7-4) emerged on top of the leader board after Round robin sailing concluded at the St. Moritz Match Race in solid Maloja wind. It was a dogfight for the remaining four spots in the quarters, with Bertrand Pace FRA (7-4), Björn Hansen SWE, Damien Iehl FRA and Adam Minoprio NZL (all on 6-5 record) making it through. While Minoprio squeaked in on countback, the curtain fell on Francesco Bruni ITA, Torvar Mirsky AUS, Eric Monnin SUI, Johnie Berntsson SWE and Jérôme Clerc SUI. Williams has a bye in the quarters today while the others will determine who will join him in the semis. The report, the gallery and the video feed.

Earl had some roar but luckily not a lot of bite as it skittered up the East Coast, bringing with it breeze, high surf and some rain, but only minor damage, before it was downgraded to a tropical storm and cleared out to sea in time for millions to resume their Labor Day vacations. That means the weather will clear in time for the Annapolis Race Week and the regatta weekend up in New England. In New Jersey, one person went swimming Thursday night and was reported missing. See this report in the WSJ.

Ernesto Rodriguez/Mary Hall USA emphatically claimed their Western Hempisphere & Occidental title in the Snipes by also winning the last race, which was sailed in 12-19 knots of southerly breeze on Lake Erie just as hurricane Earl was rumbling up the East Coast. This is Rodriguez’ first major international win in the Snipe. Augie Diaz/Kathleen Tocke USA finished second in the race and in the final standings with Bruno Bethlem/Rodrigo Lins BRA taking third yesterday and overall as well, two points ahead of fellow Brazilians Alexandre Tinoco/Gabriel Borges. Top juniors were Raul Rios/Marcos Teixidor PUR in 6th overall, top ladies were Trixy and YuYu Agusti ARG who were in 18th overall (second juniors). The club’s Web site.

Registration is now open for three upcoming development training camps in Miami, Fla., for young sailors competing in the Laser, Laser Radial, I420, 29er, 470, 49er, RS:X and Techno 293 classes. Hosted by US Sailing’s Olympic Sailing Program and run by elite coaches, the clinics are open to US Sailing Development Team (USSDT) members and other athletes who are interested in launching an Olympic campaign in the future. In addition to on-the-water drills and racing, athletes will participate in off-the-water seminars about fitness, nutrition and technique. Guest speakers, including US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics (USSTAG) members and past Olympians, will share knowledge and insight about how to run successful Olympic campaigns. Get all the details. The dates of the three fall/winter training camps, and the registration deadlines, are:
October 9-11, Miami, Fla. – registration deadline: September 24
November 26-28, Miami, Fla. – registration deadline: November 12
December 18-21, Miami, Fla. – registration deadline: December 3

Scoring a 1-5 yesterday on the last day of qualifying, Tom Slingsby AUS (20) leads all comers before the decisive final phase at the Laser Worlds in Hayling Island GBR where the fleets are now split into gold, silver and bronze. On a sparkling summer day, moderate easterlies from 8-11 knots that were accompanied by decent swell the downhillers in the 159-boat fleet clearly were in their element. Confessing to “schoolboy errors,” as he called his mistakes, Olympic and defending world champion Paul Goodison GBR (34) finally bagged a double-digit score in Race 7. Yet he sits in second, 14 points adrift of Slingsby and two ahead of the two top Kiwis (there are two more in the top eight), Michael Bullot NZL and Andrew Maloney NZL (36 each). In fifth the man of the day, Pavlos Kontides CYP (39) who makes his home in nearby Southampton GBR as a student, rolled two firsts yesterday. No such luck for the US team, which remains mired in the middle. Fred Vranizan ended in 51st, Kyle Rogachenko in 55th, Clay Johnson in 59th and Rob Crane in 66th. Vranizan looks like he'll squeak into the gold fleet.
After a layday the Junior World Championships resumes qualifying with two more races before their four-race finals commence Saturday. In the lead here is Francesco Marrai ITA. The report, all results and the video channel.

After another two windy races, the top five at the Finn Gold Cup in San Francisco maintain their relative positions, but leader Ed Wright GBR (16) who scored 2-5 and Rafa Trujillo ESP (26) who does not go quietly and scored 1-2 and increased their points cushion in over the rest of the fleet in the overall standings. Giles Scott GBR (33) hangs onto third place after placing 3-6, with Thomas Le Breton FRA (38) and Zach Railey USA (38) not far off. Perhaps the most exciting race was Race 8 with a nasty chop and 22 knots of breeze blasting down Berkeley Circle. It ended in a photo finish when Daniel Birgmark SWE pipped defending champion Jonas Høgh Christensen in the post for the win. Looking beyond Wright’s and Scott’s podium aspirations it should be noted that there are two more Brits in the Top 10, with Andrew Mills in eighth and Mark Andrews in ninth. Take away Railey’s consistent performance, and you have one ray of hope: Caleb Paine in 30th who right now is the second-best of the US squad and the top junior in this tough regatta. The report, the event site, the gallery and the YouTube Channel.

On Day 3 Istanbul produced ideal conditions for the 2010 Open 470 European Championships. With the sun up, a warm breeze of 15-20 knots blowing and the discards now in play the overall standings were turned upside down. Luke Patience/Stuart Bithell GBR (4) who opened their account with a black flag disqualification on Wednesday, won that day’s second race, before railroading the competition with three more bullets yesterday. In second now defending champions Fantela/Marenic CRO (9), who have a one-point advantage over Kliger Sela ISR (10). It also was a better day for Stu McNay/Graham Biehl USA who added 3-10-12 to improve to 21st overall. The story repeated itself on the women’s course where defending champions Giulia Conti/Giovanna Micol, ITA (5) had mucked up their first race Wednesday only to come back and win the next heat and then adding two more bullets and a second yesterday to lead all ladies. In second Petitjean/Douroux FRA (12) who won the last race of the day, followed by Rol/DeFrance FRA (15). The report.

A more stable breeze between 10 and 18 knots has shuffled the standings in favor of the specialists for breezier conditions. After the two races in the men’s gold fleet finals at the RS:X Worlds in Kerteminde DEN, Dorian van Rijsselberge NED (23) maintains a two-point lead over Piotr Myszka POL (25) who in turn has a two-point advantage over Nimrod Mashiah ISR (27). In the first race van Rijsselberge came back from 43rd to finish 12th and followed up with a bullet in the next contest, his fourth of the event. The silver fleet is led by Albert Lopes de Carvalho BRA, Ben Barger USA) is in fifth after getting a bullet in the day’s second race. Robert Willis is in 22nd. In the women’s event, 40-year-old Alessandra Sensini ITA (23) is enjoying another renaissance here after a 3-1 day and holds a four-point lead over Lee-el Korzits ISR (27) and Blanca Manchon ESP (31), who all took advantage of the previous frontrunners’ Maja Dziarnowska POL, Charline Picon, FRA or Sasa Sun CHN scoring high yesterday. Kate Ellingham NZL leads the silver fleet where Farrah Hall USA is 26th. The report and all results, plus the tracking page.

Two Brits and two French are lodged in the top five after two days of sailing at the St. Mortitz Match Race SUI. Damien Iehl FRA was the aggressor yesterday, racking up five successive victories. His victims included Wednesday’s leader Adam Minoprio NZL and AC skipper Francdesco Bruni ITA. As the Maloja wind rushed in, Iehl exhibited some deft moves, leading Minoprio around mark one by three lengths and eventually extending his lead all the way to the finish. Next on his list was Torvar Mirsky AUS who gained the initial advantage, but Iehl played the shifts well, building an insurmountable lead at the first mark. Meanwhile, Ian Williams GBR (7-1) showed little concern after sweeping his races of the day to defend the overall lead, one point ahead of Ben Ainslie GBR (6-2) and Mathieu Richard FRA (6-2). These three already are qualified for the quarterfinals. The next six led by Minoprio (5-3) and Iehl (5-4) are in the hunt for the remaining four places. The report with all results, the gallery and the videos.

The decision in the small but fine 11-boat fleet of the 5O5 Canadian Championship in Kingston, ON came down to the last race and it was a rematch of the Olympic hockey final CAN vs. USA. Jeff Boyd/ Martin Tenhove carried the hopes of the hosts while Henry Amthor/ Clayton James were the challengers from south of the border. Despite the best efforts of both teams to matchrace each other, the affair had to be settled by the jury after the Canadians produced an OCS forfeiting the title to Amthor/James who took the trophy home to America where the ghost of Canada will live on the walls of Hampton Yacht Club for the next year. See the full report and the final standings.

Day 3 of the Snipe Western Hemisphere & Orient Championships saw more stellar sailing by leaders Ernesto Rodriguez/Mary Hall USA (14). Lake Erie served up another fine day with 8-12 knots of breeze and slight chop challenging the sailors to stay powered up for the long windward-leeward courses. Rodriguez/Hall added 1-2-1, thus putting the event nearly out of reach for all others. Their only loss yesterday was to National Champs Augie Diaz/Kathleen Tocke USA (31). Alexandre Tinoco/Gabriel Borges BRA (39) who disappeared a little on Wednesday, are back on the podium in third. Today is “Earl Day” with rain and some fat breeze forecast. One more race - maybe. For the details check the results and the club’s Web site.