San Francisco, USA – Sailors competing in the 18 foot skiff regatta last week were treated to some of the best sailing conditions San Francisco Bay can offer. In an area known for predictably high summer breezes, boaters around San Francisco are used to trading warmth for wind, and usually are seen bundled up in foulies when the wind kicks up on the bay nearly every summer afternoon. Not so last week, however, as the rarest of treats was given to skiff sailors from around the world who had come to compete on the 18 footers:Â Brilliant sunshine and strong warm winds. It was a good thing too, as the crews needed that sun to dry off…Â Details & Pictures
Video Sailing – World Sailing Record for l’Hydroptère of 51.36 knots over 500 meters
France – With peak speeds reaching an amazing 55.7 knots, l’Hydroptère has shattered the world speed sailing record* with an average speed of 51.36 knots over 500 meters. This not only trounces the Macquarie Innovation speed of 50.07 kts (the fastest boat), but in the ongoing battle between big and small, the giant hydrofoil has become the fastest watercraft under sail, besting the 50.57 kts recorded by Alexandre Caizergues on his kite-board last year. With record-making season just beginning, the bar has been set high by the mighty Hydroptère and her crew… Details and pictures
Video – Hydroptere, the fastest sailboat in the world!!! L’Hydroptere hydrofoil flying trimaran sailboat sailing at speeds of up to 61 knots before high speed capsize.
Porto Cervo – If you like seeing sailing mega-yachts like the Maltese Falcon and Helios, then the Perini Navi Cup off the Costa Smeralda is the race for you. The third annual edition of this race is where the massive yachts of the well-heeled get to strut their stuff, and with 30+ knots of wind to contend with, they’ve had the opportunity to show that these boats are more than just floating palaces, as there has been some serious sailing going on.
From high-tech carbon to classic teak, traditional rigs to the entirely novel, this fleet of multi-million-dollar megayachts is nothing short of dazzling … Details, pictures and specs
If you’re a law student and wondering what would be a lucrative field to enter, give serious consideration to becoming a lawyer for the Swiss or American teams fighting over the rules for the next America’s Cup. It’s looking like this dispute will carry you into retirement.
American billionaire Larry Ellison has filed new legal actions accusing Ernesto Bertarelli, his Swiss billionaire counterpart, of willfully misinterpreting and changing long-established rules in an effort to disqualify Ellison’s BMW-Oracle trimaran from even sailing in the America’s Cup scheduled for Feb. 8 at Ras al Khaimah on the Persian Gulf.
BMW-Oracle, which represents San Francisco’s Golden Gate Yacht Club, also wants … Details