With a ground-breaking format and schedule, a brand-new race-management team, and a strong, diverse fleet ranging from the one-design Dragons to state-of-the-art Grand Prix racers, the 42nd consecutive edition of Antigua Sailing Week is shaping up as yet another memorable series.
And with the competition scheduled to begin just days from now, on Saturday, April 25th, the event’s organizers are now bracing for the influx of old friends and fresh faces to the windswept Antiguan waters.
The format and the race committee may be new—as are many of the entrants making their debut at Antigua Sailing Week—but there are also many familiar boats and sailors descending on the dramatic and picturesque Caribbean isle. Among them are… Details
Latest news from the Volvo Ocean race fleet on leg 6 to Boston. Drama on Ericsson 3 as her top mast runner snapped.
ERICSSON 3 LEG SIX DAY 5 QFB: received 15.04.09 1450 GMT
‘Bang!’
It is last night, darkness, 12 knots of wind. Suddenly a very loud bang goes through the boat. I’m sitting in the media station fixing the electricity and have just restarted the media desk. I instantly swear that I can’t press the crash button, this seems to be dramatic.
It almost felt like the mast was about to come down. When we came up on deck it turns out that it was not far from it. The topmast runner had snapped.
Magnus Woxén was standing by the helm at the time and … Details
The leading sailors and top nations all appear to consolidate their positions in the latest release of the ISAF World Sailing Rankings on 15 April 2009.
However as expected so soon after the 2008 Olympics these rankings include a number of crews who retired after the Qingdao, sailors who have not raced in their classes since that time and sailors who are now campaigning in new crew combination. It will be at least another year before these rankings provide meaningful guidance relevant to 2012.
Taking the rankings on their face value however, following on from the European debut of the ISAF Sailing World Cup at the Trofeo SAR Princess Sofia MAPFRE in Palma, the latest release of the ISAF World Sailing Rankings puts Spain on top of the national standings.
The Spanish team put in a strong performance on their home waters, winning …Â Details
A 330-nautical mile run in 24 hours is pedestrian for the Volvo Open 70 yacht, but it’s been enough to push Ericsson 4 onto the stern of Telefónica Blue in the battle for the fleet lead on Leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race.
The Spanish boat has held the lead since Sunday morning, but overall race leader Ericsson 4, skippered by Brazilian Torben Grael, has steadily closed the gap. In the past 24 hours Ericsson 4 has halved its deficit to eight nautical miles at the 1307 GMT position report.
‘A couple of active cumulus clouds kept us busy last night but seem to have done us no harm as we managed to gain some ground on Telefonica Blue and open up a few miles on the chasing Ericsson 3, Puma and Telefónica Black, with whom we had spent most of yesterday,’ said Ericsson 4 bowman Ryan Godfrey.
Grael’s International crew separated from the pack in a cloud line, while Ericsson 3 languished behind … DetailsÂ