YachtOnLine

Virbac-Paprec resist the attack of Foncia

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 23:00:00 GMT

Virbac-Paprec 3 and Foncia are riding the leading edge of the low pressure’s front and should manage to stay with it, making around 18-20 knots and we should maybe see them gybe later this afternoon or this evening to line up for the SW’lies as the front passes over them. For the leading duo especially it is pedal to the metal time, trying to stay aboard this fast moving express for as long as possible. Foncia were first to satisfy the first gate, at around They will ride the...

Games of cunning and speed

Sun, 23 Jan 2011 23:00:00 GMT

This morning MAPFRE take over the mantle as the fastest boat on the fleet as they pick up new breeze from a front which is curving north as it tracks east. Iker Martinez and Xabi Fernandez are sailing at over 15 knots in this morning's 1000hrs update, and have gained over 20 miles on leader Virbac Paprec 3. Jean-Pierre Dick and Loick Peyron (FRA) are still under the influence of the low pressure system which powered them to over 500 miles ahead of MAPFRE, but are beginning to lose the...

A Sky over the water

Sun, 23 Jan 2011 23:00:00 GMT

Heesen Yachts’ hull number 14750 is a seductive shark-grey beauty whose white superstructure and long, long glazed areas gleam in the sun. As we gaze upon her, it dawns on us that the Dutch yard has once again produced a superb example of luxury yachting at its finest with this 50-metre full-displacement beauty whose performance figures and styling are well ahead of the rest of the scene today. Built from steel optimised for weight containment, her super-efficient platform sports three...

Back to the front

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 23:00:00 GMT

Virbac Paprec 3 has now leapt back into second place, powering past Estrella Damm to re-establish the two boats which led to South America as the fleet front-runners after their repair stopover in Recife, as Foncia leads by some 50 miles in this morning’s 1000hrs ranking. The leading pair look set for a day of exhilarating sailing, and are currently topping 20-knot averages as they ride the stronger, more northerly pressure, associated with the beginnings of a low pressure system formed...

Doubling their money

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 23:00:00 GMT

At the front of the fleet, Estrella Damm continues to lead, and has now picked up speed to exit the light winds zone, but they have yet to shake off Groupe Bel, who are fewer than 30 miles behind them. The gains to the west are most clearly illustrated by the number of miles covered in the past 24 hours. While the Spanish leaders were wallowing at frustratingly slow speeds, the two French boats which stopped for repairs in Recife have been able to more than make up the extra mileage they have...

The whole truth

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 23:00:00 GMT

The grinding progress of last night looks set to continue for the leaders of the Barcelona World RACE, Estrella Damm, for the rest of today, with the various weather routing options indicating that Alex Pella and Pepe Ribes may only escape the light winds zone by late evening tonight. As the Spanish leaders’ progress drops, to just 8 miles covered since this morning’s 0500hrs update, so too the rest of the pack continues to compress, with less than 500 miles now covering...

Sense 50: pleasure personified

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 23:00:00 GMT

“Encore!” as the French would say. Having evolved the cruising side of the business with the Oceanis range and the cruiser-racer segment with the Firsts, Beneteau is now launching two all-new projects as part of a small series called Sense. There’s a 50 footer already on the water and a 43 footer still at the drawing board stage. The new models are what might be described as hybrids: their big, bold ocean yacht-inspired hulls meld with deckhouses and interiors that have much...

MSC Crociere in Brazil

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 23:00:00 GMT

Widely acknowledged as one of the new world economic powers, Brazil is becoming an increasingly fashionable winter holiday destination for Europeans who flock there to enjoy the warmth of the South American summer. The opportunity to enjoy a sun-kissed Latin experience aboard an Italian cruise ship combines the best of both worlds and is not to be missed. The perfect solution comes from Neapolitan company MSC Crociere which has dispatched an imposing fleet of five of its modern vessels to South...

Virbac and the Ghostbusters

Mon, 17 Jan 2011 23:00:00 GMT

Virbac-Paprec 3 became the second boat to use 'ghost' mode when they elected not to reappear on this morning's 0400hrs UTC rankings. Thus Jean-Pierre Dick and Loick Peyron take full advantage of the overnight 'blackout' between 1900hrs and 0400hrs and now will not reappear until Wednesday's 1400hrs UTC ramking. Last night the French duo were in fifth place, calculated to be two miles or so ahead of sixth placed Foncia. This morning Alex Pella and Pepe Ribes on Estrella Damm still hold a...

Flirting Helena

Sun, 16 Jan 2011 23:00:00 GMT

Who will come out on top at the end of the road to Gough Island and Atlantic Gate 1? Current routing has the leading boats passing sometime around the evening of Monday 23rd January. As it stands at the moment there is little final difference between the faster, longer route that Foncia and Virbac are committed to sailing in the west, down the Brazilian coast and the more direct but shorter, and more problematic course which leaders Estrella Damm are sailing. It is close enough that it could...

Pershing 92: simply amazing

Sun, 16 Jan 2011 23:00:00 GMT

“In line with our brand philosophy, the Pershing 92’ incorporates just the right mix of technical innovation and leading-edge design, a combination that has made the Pershing brand one of the finest exponents of the nautical Made in Italy phenomenon in the world and contributed to our Group’s international standing,” declared a proud Norberto Ferretti, chairman and founder of the Ferretti Group. And it has to be said that this is a yacht with which it’s virtually...

Technical repair stop in Brasil for Virbac-Paprec 3

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 23:00:00 GMT

Barcelona World Race leaders Jean-Pierre Dick and Loïck Peyron are preparing to make a technical stop in Brasil to make a repair to their main sheet track on Virbac-Paprec 3. A length of around 2.50 metres of the track is reported to have been lifted away from the deck. Virbac-Paprec 3 is sailing presently off the coast of Brasil in SE’ly winds of 15 knots under full main and Solent headsail. The duo lead the race by approximately 50 miles from Foncia, Michel Desjoyeaux and...

Italys cruise records

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 23:00:00 GMT

Italy is enjoying something of a cruise boom at the moment. This is especially true compared to other Mediterranean European Union nations, particularly France, Spain and Greece. So good is the going, in fact, that Italy now lays claim to not one but five records. For starters, Civitavecchia is now the leading port in terms of cruise ship calls. In 2010, alone there were 1,082, meaning that it has now passed out Barcelona which until last year occupied pride of place. The top spot for number...

Hugo Boss races on without Alex Thomson

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 23:00:00 GMT

Alex Thomson has made the decision to remain in England to be able to closely monitor the progress of his infant son Oscar who was diagnosed with a heart condition called coarctation of the aorta. HUGO BOSS will continue in the Barcelona World Race with substitute skipper Wouter Verbraak (NED) and Andy Meiklejohn (NZL). The couple’s baby Oscar, who was born 7th January, was further examined by medical consultants in the UK this morning (Tuesday) where they determined that his condition...

President retires

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 23:00:00 GMT

Following the loss of their rig on Sunday evening, the President duo Jean Le Cam and Bruno Garcia have been safely in the Cape Verde islands since last night. News of their official retirement from the Barcelona World Race has just been officially received. " I wont forget the immediate support of Andor Serra for helping putting everything at our disposal from the FNOB Scuderia. I have been surprised by the many messages i am getting, so many that I am a bit taken aback, maybe because...

Alfio Peraboni left us

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 23:00:00 GMT

Perabù left us. This was his nickname on Lake Garda, where he often was and was loved as if he were a “local”, despite being a sailor from Lake Como. Alfio Peraboni, 56 years, a real mountain of muscles and character died yesterday at the Monza hospital. After starting his sporting career as a basketball player Alfio got into sailing as bowman on Dodo Gorla’s Star, the two quickly becoming the true winning couple of Italian sailing. Together they won no less than a...

Problems for Foncia

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 23:00:00 GMT

The muscular trade winds are still providing constant high speeds for the leaders of the Barcelona World Race fleet with all of duos forced to think about nothing else but speed, spending hours on the helm to maximise gains and minimise losses in the thrilling sleigh ride towards the Doldrums. And the pacemakers today acknowledged that they are looking forward to the respite that the narrow zone of lighter winds will provide, a respite break to recharge themselves and restore some measure of...

President has lost the mast

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 23:00:00 GMT

Jean Le Cam reported to Race Direction of the Barcelona World Race at 1925hrs (UTC) this Monday evening that the IMOCA Open 60 President has lost its mast. Jean Le Cam (FRA) and Spanish co-skipper Bruno Garcia are on board and both safe and healthy. The incident occurred when the boat was positioned at around 18º 03 ' NR /26 º 14 ' W and was sailing at speeds of between 16 and 20 knots. The boat is reported to have hit a wave and the mast broke. Michel Olivier, the...

Vribac flies, waiting for Alex Thomson

Sun, 09 Jan 2011 23:00:00 GMT

Virbac-Paprec 3 lead by 40 miles as they pass the latitude of Dakar some 500 miles to the east. Speeds remain high, the skippers always pushing as hard as they dare, steering constantly working regular shifts to maximise speed. For the leaders it will be champagne sailing all the way to a nice, narrow, organised gap in the Doldrums, only about 120 miles wide. For those who are at the back, the trade winds will start to drop more significantly as they get south, the bubbly losing its fizz but...

Caprera is always Caprera

Sun, 09 Jan 2011 23:00:00 GMT

My friend Cristina and I set off together. We were 17 years old. A group of six girls and about 30 guys gathered on the island of Caprera. Pink rocks and the cold, crystalline mid-June sea of Sardinia spread out before us as the scent of myrtle hung in the air. The wind was constant, high and gusting, the kind that drives city folk crazy and thrills seafaring ones. We were at the toughest and best sailing school in Italy. I arrived there complete with a hippy chic wardrobe. Very 1970s:...

The Turkish Phenomenon

Sun, 02 Jan 2011 23:00:00 GMT

While many nations are struggling with shrunken GDPs, some are riding the veritable crest of the economic wave. Turkey, for instance, will end 2010 with a 7 per cent increase in its GDP, a result that puts it in second position in the G20, just behind China. The tourist sector makes a huge contribution to the country’s economy and has itself experienced strong growth in the last few years. We caught up with the Republic of Turkey’s Minister for Culture and Tourism since 2007,...

San Francisco wins the first race

Fri, 31 Dec 2010 23:00:00 GMT

San Francisco has been selected as the host venue for the 34th America’s Cup. An official celebration event will be hosted in San Francisco on January 5th, event location details to be announced. “We sought a venue that fulfills our promise – to showcase the best sailors in the world competing on the fastest boats,” said Richard Worth, Chairman, America’s Cup Event Authority. “And hosting the America’s Cup in San Francisco will realize...

The Royal Caribbean challenge

Tue, 28 Dec 2010 23:00:00 GMT

Royal Caribbean International is planning an all-out assault on the might of Costa and MSC in the Mediterranean in 2011. The world’ s second largest cruise company will be putting particular focus on Italy where it expects a 70% increase in traffic. To achieve this impressive result, eight of its vessels will be casting off from Italian ports. A further 17 other ships, either based in or passing through the Mediterranean, will be making regular calls to Italy also. Three of RCI’ s...

For Italy sailing dreams become a reality

Sun, 26 Dec 2010 23:00:00 GMT

There is, you know, an Italy that we can be proud of. A nation still capable of excellence. It’s a pity, however, that certain achievements are either ignored or, worse still, consigned to the back pages of the newspapers. On November 19th, Andrea Mura was the first man across the finish-line in the Route du Rhum, a fact that provoked almost complete indifference in the Italian media. To understand the extent of Mura’s achievement, you would have had to have been there when the...

World fleets

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 23:00:00 GMT

There are around 300 cruise ships working around the world today with a further 25 either actually building or ordered for delivery by the end of 2014. Forty six of the vessels in service have gross tonnages of over 100,000 tonnes, providing ample evidence of the rush to build bigger and bigger vessels that began around the turn of the millennium. Looking at the statistics individually, it is clear that the Americans lead the way as they have the three largest cruise companies in the world. At...

YachtOnLine

Virbac-Paprec resist the attack of Foncia

Games of cunning and speed

A Sky over the water

Back to the front

Doubling their money

The whole truth

Sense 50: pleasure personified

MSC Crociere in Brazil

Virbac and the Ghostbusters

Flirting Helena

Pershing 92: simply amazing

Technical repair stop in Brasil for Virbac-Paprec 3

Italys cruise records

Hugo Boss races on without Alex Thomson

President retires

Alfio Peraboni left us

Problems for Foncia

President has lost the mast

Vribac flies, waiting for Alex Thomson

Caprera is always Caprera

The Turkish Phenomenon

San Francisco wins the first race

The Royal Caribbean challenge

For Italy sailing dreams become a reality

World fleets

Italys cruise records