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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Also Rothmans in the water

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 23:00:00 GMT

At 80’, she is three feet longer than Great Britain II, who is also entered, along with the smallest yacht ever, 45’ Copernicus from Poland, both of whom took part in 1973-74. Rothmans originally sailed with a crew of up to 16 and finished the race in fourth place overall, taking 131 days to complete the 33,000 nautical mile course. It was Lawrie Smith’s second race, having completed part of the course on Simon Le Bon’s Drum in 1985-86. Since finishing The Whitbread,...

Barcelona World Race

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 23:00:00 GMT

These couples will have to learn to live in harmony for weeks on end in the cramped confines of an 18-metre boat as they negotiate a 25,000-mile route through the world’s oceans. Three quarters of their time together will be spent in subzero temperatures in raging oceans of the southern hemisphere. No, it’s not a new reality show or a waterborne version of Big Brother, but the regatta par excellence of 2011. The third edition of the same, it will see 15 pairs of “solo...

JP 54: welcome to a new era

Thu, 09 Dec 2010 23:00:00 GMT

Making the transition from an IMOCA 60 to a cruising yacht isn’t as easy as it might seem. Particularly if your name happens to be Jean-Pierre Dick and you’ve just won the non-stop two-handed Barcelona World Race. You can either lapse into black despair or throw yourself completely into building the boat of your dreams. Having barely disembarked from Paprec Virbac 2, Jean-Pierre Dick didn’t think twice and quickly produced a project that is now very much a floating reality...

The return of Great Britain II

Thu, 25 Nov 2010 23:00:00 GMT

The 77' maxi, Great Britain II, the only yacht ever to take part in five consecutive Whitbread Round the World Races (the forerunner of the Volvo Ocean Race), is to race once again. will be on the start line with a host of other legendary boats, competing at next year's Volvo Ocean Race Legends reunion and regatta in Alicante, Spain.The yacht was built especially to compete in the very first Whitbread, and was skippered by Sir Chay Blyth, who was awarded a CBE as the first person to sail...

Alinghi will not be there

Thu, 25 Nov 2010 23:00:00 GMT

Alinghi, two times winner of the America’s Cup, has today announced that it will not enter a team in the 34th edition of the prestigious sailing trophy and instead has launched a new programme that will see the Swiss team participating in the Extreme Sailing Series. After a careful evaluation of the protocol and other initiatives taken by the American Defender and its Challenger of Record, Alinghi considers that the existing conditions make it impossible for the team to participate in...

Audi MedCup 2011: the dates

Wed, 24 Nov 2010 23:00:00 GMT

Planning is well under way for the 2011 Audi MedCup Circuit season which for the first time will feature both the TP52 Series fleet, racing under the new measurement rule which will take the Series forward from 2011, and the exciting new S40 one-design class which has been attracting worldwide attention since it was announced as the Circuit’s second class from 2011 onwards. The 2011 season is set to follow a very similar schedule of dates as 2011, with one regatta in each of France,...

Dubai, Mascalzone in the semifinals

Tue, 23 Nov 2010 23:00:00 GMT

Flight One, Race One, Emirates Team New Zealand def Synergy Russian Sailing Team, 00:47 The Kiwis came from behind to win. Both boats were early, head to wind, before the start as ETNZ split away to the committee while the Russians went for the pin. Francesco Bruni and his Russian team got off the line going to the left and found more pressure to lead by nine seconds at the top mark. Dean Barker and the Kiwis made up ground on the run and trailed by just three seconds at the bottom gate. They...

Mascalzone Latino almost in the semifinals

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 23:00:00 GMT

Flight One, Race One, Synergy Russian Sailing Team def All4One, 00:05 Francesco Bruni and his Russian team conceded the start to Sebastien Col and the French/German team All4One, only to be penalized for tacking too close when they converged in the middle of the course. Bruni had a narrow edge up the rest of the leg and rounded the top mark 13 seconds ahead. Col threatened on the second beat but the Russians eked out a 125 metre edge that provided the narrowest of margins to unload their...

In Dubai it's always Bmw

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 23:00:00 GMT

Good sea breeze conditions again today in Dubai, with big matches on the schedule, including a pair of races between the top two teams on the leaderboard at the end of the afternoon. Flight One, Race One, Synergy Russian Sailing def All4One, 00:08 Synergy Russian Sailing team earned a come from behind win with a pass on the first run. But they were given a scare on the short downwind sprint to the finish on the second lap of the course as All4One made a gain with a smoother rounding at the...

Here the prize!

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 23:00:00 GMT

The spectacular new Volvo Ocean Race Trophy was unveiled in Race Headquarters, Alicante this evening, in front of representatives from all 10 host ports, the racing teams, local authorities and race sponsors. This event crowns the first night of the Volvo Ocean Race Conference for the 2011 – 12 edition. The Vice President of the Generalitat Valenciana, Gerardo Camps, joined Knut Frostad, CEO Volvo Ocean Race to unveil the new trophy. As with the Olympic Games, there is no financial...