America’s Cup Sailing in Ras al-Khaimah?

The BMW Oracle sailing team has cited “grave safety concerns” for its U.S.-based crew that would be sailing a massive trimaran named USA within miles of Iran asking a New York court to reject Ras al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, as the port for the 33rd America’s Cup. The BMW Oracle sailing team filed a motion with the Supreme Court of the State of New York asking that the Persian Gulf port be replaced with Valencia, Spain, as the site for the best-of-3 showdown against bitter rival and two-time defending champion Alinghi of Switzerland for the oldest trophy in international sports.

Ras al-Khaimah, or RAK, is on the southern end of the Persian Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, which separates the Arabian Peninsula from Iran.

BMW Oracle Racing is owned by software tycoon and sailor Larry Ellison of Oracle Corp. Ellison himself raised safety concerns a few days after Alinghi announced RAK as the venue in early August.

Racing is scheduled to begin on Feb. 8. Alinghi’s 90-foot catamaran, Alinghi 5, arrived in RAK earlier this week. BMW Oracle Racing’s 90-foot trimaran, which will be named USA in coming weeks, has been undergoing sea trials off San Diego since last fall.

BMW Oracle Racing sent a team to inspect the proposed venue and said in a statement issued late Thursday night that it “fails on every key measure necessary for a successful America’s Cup,” including infrastructure, security and wind.

Ras al-Khaimah is “particularly unsuitable” because the proposed racing area is within 17 miles of islands occupied by Iran in a territorial dispute with the United Arab Emirates, the Americans said.

In its court motion, BMW Oracle Racing said both it and Alinghi, backed by Societe Nautique de Geneve (SNG), still have bases in Valencia from the 2007 America’s Cup, when the Swiss beat Team New Zealand to retain the silver trophy.

“As a venue for the America’s Cup, Ras al-Khaimah … presents grave safety concerns for the team members of an American challenger, named “USA,” that flies an American flag on a 200-foot mast,” BMW Oracle Racing’s court filing says. “It also presents huge logistical concerns for GGYC (but not SNG). SNG has never explained why it selected Ras al-Khaimah over Valencia.”

In a statement, BMW Oracle Racing skipper and CEO Russell Coutts — who once steered Alinghi to America’s Cup victory — said the choice of RAK “underscores SNG’s abject failure in its responsibilities as Trustee of the America’s Cup. It seems that the Defender is prepared to go to any lengths to make this America’s Cup a travesty.”

Coutts has won the America’s Cup three times, including in 2003 when he led Alinghi to a 5-0 win over his native New Zealand. Coutts was later fired after a falling out with Alinghi boss Ernesto Bertarelli.

Alinghi countered by noting that international sport stars like Tiger Woods and Roger Federer have regularly played tournaments in the UAE, and that Coutts himself has sailed annually in the Emirates.

“It’s a joke that they’ve waited two full months before contesting the venue,” Alinghi spokesman Paco Latorre told The AP by phone from Geneva.

“We feel that Ellison is more and more afraid of losing again on the water after his previous failures and that’s why he and his team proceed with the legal strategy,” Latorre said. “Don’t forget, it is the seventh time they take us to court. We would have preferred to get this solved on the water, but BMW Oracle prefers to get it solved in court.”

BMW Oracle Racing said RAK is an improper venue because the 19th century Deed of Gift, which governs the America’s Cup, prohibits racing in the Northern Hemisphere between Nov. 1 and May 1.

Latorre, however, said a previous court order during the twisting, two-year court fight between the rivals stipulated that the venue would be Valencia or any other site picked by Alinghi.

BMW Oracle Racing is asking the New York court — which has jurisdiction in America’s Cup legal spats — to direct that the America’s Cup be sailed in Valencia, unless the teams mutually consent otherwise.

New York attorney and competitive sailor Cory E. Friedman said he thinks BMW Oracle Racing’s motion is well-founded both on grounds of the Deed of Gift and security.

Alinghi labeled the return to court as another attempt by the Americans to stall the competition. Alinghi skipper Brad Butterworth, who sailed with Coutts in three America’s Cup victories, said the Swiss are convinced that RAK “is the perfect and legitimate venue,” and that BMW Oracle Racing’s latest motion “is further proof of their unsportsmanlike behavior.”

The long, legal bickering aside, the racing could be the most spectacular in the 158-year history of the America’s Cup. Alinghi 5 and USA are the fastest, most powerful boats ever built for sailing’s marquee event. USA is nearly as long as an NBA court and would fill the diamond on a major league baseball field.

Read more about the America’s Cup sailing venue in Ras al-Khaimah:

America’s Cup in UAE = Bad Publicity?

Ellen MacArthur Quits Competitive Sailing

Dame Ellen MacArthur revealed on Sunday that she has retired from competitive sailing to focus on the environment.

Appearing on Desert Island Discs on BBC Radio 4, Dame Ellen, who broke the record for the fastest solo circumnavigation of the globe in 2005, said a trip to the Atlantic island of South Georgia had made her aware of the challenges facing the planet.

At sea, every resource is precious and must be used carefully, she said – even something as commonplace as kitchen roll is eked out piece by piece – and this had given her a different view on the way mankind treats the environment. “I never thought that anything in my life could eclipse sailing, I didn’t think it was possible but after being in South Georgia, after learning these lessons I suppose, and the more I researched into it, the more frightened I got and that has really scared me to the point that I can’t go back to sea and go around the world again because this really matters.

“I still sail, I love sailing, I’ll still sail for pleasure, I sail for charity – the Ellen MacArthur Trust with kids with cancer, leukaemia, but as long as this challenge is there to be communicated, will I invest four years of my life to sailing round the world? No.

Sailing the Inside Passage on Ocean Watch

The Ocean Watch is a unique sailing vessel that will become a floating platform for science research as it circumnavigates the Americas. Ocean Watch was launched on March 31, and will start its voyage north from Seattle on May 31. It will go north, to sail the Northwest Passage this summer, where it is now possible to sail ice-free along the northern coast of Alaska and Canada as the Arctic ice dramatically shrank. Scientists from various agencies fear that global warming is taking its toll on the ice.

Full story: http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_052009WAB-research-ship-SW.20a21676.html

National Safe Boating Week

National Safe Boating Week

While boating is a safe and fun recreational activity enjoyed by thousands every year, in 2009 there may still be more than 600 boating fatalities from boating accidents. With this statistic in mind, the Coast Guard, as part of the 2009 North American Boating Campaign is again encouraging boaters to “Wear It!” during National Safe Boating Week May 16-22.

Wearing a life jacket can make the difference between life and death. According to the most-recently reported official Coast Guard national statistics:

• 90 percent of drowning victims in recreational boating accidents were not wearing a life jacket in 2007.
• Drowning is the reported cause of death in two-thirds of all boating fatalities.
• Capsizing and falls overboard are the most reported types of fatal accidents and accounted for the vast majority (78 percent) of all boating fatalities.
• Alcohol use was either a direct or indirect contributing factor in approximately one-fifth of all boating fatalities.
• Sixteen children age 12 and under lost their lives while boating. Eight of the children died from drowning.
• Operator inattention, carelessness/reckless operation, passenger/skier behavior, excessive speed and alcohol use rank as the top five primary contributing factors in accidents.
• Approximately 85 percent of reported fatalities occurred on boats where the operator had not received boating safety instruction, a 15 percent increase over previous years.

The U.S. Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary, in partnership with state and local authorities, have numerous activities all around the country targeted at educating the boating community, check them out in your own local area.

Sailing Photo - Sailing on the lake by Jim Media

Sailboat in New Zealand

Lake Wakatipu is an lake in the South Island of New Zealand, at the southwest corner of Otago Region. Lake Wakatipu is New Zealand’s longest lake at 80 kilometres, and its third largest at 291 km². Lake Wakatipu is renowned for its scenic beauty and is surrounded by mountains (including the Remarkables mountain range which lies along its southeastern edge).

Lake Wakatipu is a popular venue for adventure tourism, with skifields, paragliding, bungy jumping, hiking trails, and of course, lots of room for sailing.

Sailboat on Lake Wakatipu by Falconne007

If this lake looks familiar it is because Lake Wakatipu doubled as the famous Scottish ‘Loch Ness’ in the 2007 film ‘The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep.’

Reed Boats

Reed Boats

Reed boat next to floating islands, near Puno. Peru.

Reed Boats in Peru dachalan

The joy of sailing

I love sailing. So I thought I would share a photo of sailing from my perspective. SPLASH!

Sailing Photo

Commandos Rescue Sailboat and Crew from Pirates

The sailing yacht Tanit, which was taken by Somali pirates last week with four adults and one child aboard has been freed by the French Commandos. The three year old child and three of the crew members were rescued from the pirates. One hostage and two of the pirates were killed during the rescue.

This is the third attack on a French sailing yacht by pirates in Somalia during the past year, the third rescue operation by the French. It is the first time a hostage has been harmed during one of these French rescue operations.

Read more: Tanit Yacht

The U.S. Responds to Piracy and Pirates

U.S. President Barack Obama appeared to move up the piracy issue on his agenda this week in light of the situation with the U.S. ship attacked by pirates, saying the United States would work with nations elsewhere in the world, “to halt the rise of piracy.”

“I want to be very clear that we are resolved to halt the rise of piracy in that region and to achieve that goal, we’re going to have to continue to work with our partners to prevent future attacks,” said Obama.

The rescue operation of Richard Phillips from pirates won praise abroad but it was uncertain how far Obama wanted to go to engage the pirates.

The U.S. appears to be considering options including adding Navy gunships along the Somali coastline and launching a campaign to disable pirate “mother ships.” Some military strategists believe it may ultimately be necessary to attack the pirates’ bases on land in Somalia. But few international allies have the appetite for another land operation in Somalia, where a U.S. military foray in the early 1990s ended in humiliation. And the cost in civilian casualties would likely be extremely high, some warn.

The chief mate aboard the US-flagged Maersk Alabama was among those urging strong U.S. action. “It’s time for us to step in and put an end to this crisis,” Shane Murphy said. “It’s a crisis. Wake up.”

New details emerged Monday about the pirate standoff. Fearing the pirates‘ lifeboat was approaching the Somali shore, where they could escape, the Bainbridge rammed it back out toward sea, that happened before the Bainbridge put a tow line on the lifeboat to help it navigate the choppy sea. The four pirates that attacked the Alabama were said to be between 17 and 19 years old. “Untrained teenagers with heavy weapons,” Gates told a group of students and faculty at the Marine Corps War College. “Everybody in the room knows the consequences of that.”

Phillips was taken hostage in an enclosed lifeboat that was soon shadowed by three U.S. warships and a helicopter. Navy SEAL snipers parachuted from their aircraft into the sea, and were picked up by the USS Bainbridge, a senior U.S. official said. Snipers got the go-ahead to fire after one pirate held an AK-47 close to Phillips’ back. Snipers killed three pirates with single shots shortly after sailors on the Bainbridge saw the hostage-takers “with their heads and shoulders exposed,” Gortney said.

Pirates currently hold more that 230 sailors hostage in more than a dozen ships and 1 private catamaran sailboat anchored off the pirate haven of Somalia.

Read More About: Piracy and Pirates

• Pirate Attacks on Sailboats 2008 and 2009

Cruising the British Virgin Islands

Sailboat in the British Virgin Islands

Congressional Cup Sailing in Long Beach

Ben Ainslie and Terry Hutchinson are just a couple of the sailors racing in the Congressional Cup in Long Beach California this week. Sailing got off to a good start today for Ainslie and Hutchinson and the scoreboard shows them with 6-0 and 5-1 records after the first day of racing.

But for Hutchinson, who won here in 1992 and called tactics for winners Ken Read in 2003 and Dean Barker in 2006, said he isn’t pondering the choice between $30,000 or the keys to a new Acura awarded to anyone who goes undefeated all week.

Congressional Cup 2009 by Rich Roberts

“There are a lot of good sailors here,” said Hutchinson, who was recently honored as America’s Rolex Yachtsman of the Year. “You could easily go for oh and six tomorrow.”

And it wasn’t a perfect day for Hutchinson’s crew, which like all the others is lodged at LBYC members’ homes.

“The day started out,” he said, “with those five words no host likes to hear: ‘Do you have a plunger?’ “

It did get better. Hutchinson dealt Ainslie, the triple Olympic gold medalist and ISAF World Sailor of the Year, his only loss, by five boat lengths.

Ben Ainslie said, “The thing to do is roll with the punches and keep it going.”

Some had more punches to roll with than others. France’s Sébastien Col, Mathieu Richard and Philippe Presti, currently ranked Nos. 1, 3 and 6 in the world, share sixth place with only two wins each. Richard won the traditional Crimson Blazer here two years ago.

The depth of the field is a factor. Hutchinson’s tactician, Cameron Appleton of New Zealand, said their toughest race was against the U.S.’s Brian Angel, who stands 1-5. Ainslie said Sweden’s Johnie Berntsson—3-3 but second here the last two years—gave them their worst moments, next to their loss to Hutchinson.

New Zealand’s Adam Minoprio, a winner in the World Match Racing Tour opener at Marseille earlier this month, shares third placed with Italy’s Francesco Bruni, a late entry, at 4-2.

With 18 rounds to run through Friday, leading into Saturday’s championship sailoffs for the final four, principal race officer Mike Van Dyke made the most of steady southwest breezes building from 6 to 14 knots through the afternoon on the half-mile windward-leeward course inside the Long Beach breakwater.

Bruni, who wasn’t invited until two weeks ago when a spot opened up, said at the evening’s press conference, “We’re very happy with the sun, the wind . . . and the pizza [delivered to the teams] after sailing.”

Hutchinson was happy, too, after winning only two of his six starts and breaking even in two others.

“We clearly lost our last start to Angel,” he said. “I expect we’re going to have some hiccups on the way.”

But his best move saved the race against Angel, who led the final race going into the first windward mark.

Tactician Cameron Appleton of New Zealand said, “That was our hardest race of the day. He was first off the line and controlled the race. But at the top mark he hoisted his chute a little too soon and we came in between him and the buoy. Then we luffed him head to wind and he had to drop [the spinnaker], and we bore off, raised our chute and sailed away.”

Berntsson pulled off another slick comeback to beat Col by four seconds. First, he cut Col’s lead to less than a boat length with a quicker spinnaker hoist and jib drop at the last mark, and when Col tried to luff him upwind near the finish he was able to break the overlap and bear away to the line to win by half a boat length.
Racing continues for the Congressional Cup near Long Beach Yacht Club on Wednesday at noon.

Congressional Cup 2009 Results

Congressional Cup ROUND 1
Adam Minoprio, New Zealand, def. Mathieu Richard, France, 25 seconds; Francesco Bruni, Italy, d. Sébastien Col, France, 0:45; Philippe Presti, France, d. Staffan Lindberg, Finland, 0:35; Ben Ainslie, Great Britain, d. Brian Angel, USA, 0:20; Terry Hutchinson, USA, d. Johnie Berntsson, Sweden, 0:23.

Congressional Cup ROUND 2
Col d. Lindberg, 0:11; Presti d. Angel, 0:20; Ainslie d. Minoprio, 0:30; Hutchinson d. Richard, 0:34; Bruni d. Berntsson, no time.

Congressional Cup ROUND 3
Minoprio d. Presti, 0:29; Hutchinson d. Ainslie, no time; Richard d. Bruni, 0:15; Berntsson d. Col, 0:04; Angel d. Lindberg, 0:11.

Congressional Cup ROUND 4
Ainslie d. Bruni, 0:11; Berntsson d. Richard, 0:08; Col d. Angel, 0:30; Lindberg d. Minoprio, 0:06; Hutchinson d. Presti, 0:16.

Congressional Cup ROUND 5
Richard d. Col, 0:06; Minoprio d. Angel, 0:21; Hutchinson d. Lindberg, 0:12; Bruni d. Presti, 0:04; Ainslie d. Berntsson, 0:53.

Congressional Cup ROUND 6
Hutchinson d. Angel, 0:24; Bruni d. Lindberg, 1:05; Berntsson d. Presti, 1:20; Ainslie d. Richard, 0:20; Minoprio d. Col, 0:14.

Congressional Cup STANDINGS (after 6 of 18 rounds):

1. Hutchinson, 6-0; 2. Ainslie, 5-1; 3. tie between Bruni and Minoprio, 4-2; 5. Berntsson, 3-3; 6. tie among Presti, Richard and Col, 2-4, 9. tie between Lindberg and Angel, 1-5.

Sailing Schooner

Sailing Schooner

Sailing by sharkbait

Photo of the sailing Schooner Eleonora.

This sailboat is a modern reproduction of a classic America’s Cup yacht from 1910.